Time is one of the most unique and uninvestigated phenomena in our world. Its unclear nature and peoples inability to manage it attracted our attention and created a solid basis for vigorous debates related to the interference in its structure. The brightest minds have been trying to answer this question and formulate the main regularities related to this process for years. Besides, the rapid evolution of science and technologies renewed interest in this topic and gave rise to vigorous debates around the possibility or impossibility of time travels. Nevertheless, at the moment, there is still no consensus as perspectives on the issue differ. The discovery of wormholes also preconditioned the undying interest in the topic. Thus, there are several modern theories that could be explored to prove either the possibility or impossibility of time travels.
When delving into the topic, it is crucial to understand the essence of time and its nature. One obviously knows the fact that it is one of the most powerful forces in the world. It could be defined as a continuous process of existence and numerous events that might occur in succession from the past through the present to the future. As comes from the definition, there are three states which are the past, present, and future. This subdivision contributes to the appearance of the debates related to the negotiation of the time barrier and moving in time from the past to the future and on the contrary, from the future to the past. The complexity of the problem gave rise to numerous speculations about the creation of the machine that could allow a person to move from one timeline to another.
However, the rise of spacefaring triggered the new wave of debates related to this sphere. Numerous scientists consider spaceships to be a sort of time machine that could be used to travel through time. When a person undergoes a serious acceleration, turns around, and comes back to earth, he/she might experience a time travel. In this regard, any spaceship that is able to reach a significant speed close to the light velocity could become a space machine. From this very perspective, every time machine has to travel through space. Additionally, the discovery of wormholes also provides numerous opportunities for travels through a higher-dimensional hyperspace (Tegmark 6).
In other words, we could speak about the existence of some alternative reality that might provide us with an opportunity to move in time and reach the needed destination point. This idea also correlates to the many-worlds interpretation of the universe. It means that there are numerous alternative worlds with similar histories and events that occurred during certain periods of time. If to accept this idea, we could state that a wormhole transfers us from our world to another, similar to ours but going through another timeline. Under these conditions, time travels become possible with the proviso that humanity will be able to build a spaceship that could experience a journey of this sort and understand the nature of wormholes. One realizes the fact that this task should be considered more than complex; however, the possibility to achieve this goal remains.
Additionally, the question of time travels comes close with the idea of time paradoxes that are expected to result in the collapse of the universe or some other significant problems. Besides, time paradox might appear when a time traveler interferes with the course of history and alters some events that conditioned the way the modern world looks. Moreover, this rude intervention is also suggested as one of the main reasons why time travels are impossible and time paradoxes serve as the guaranty that it will never happen.
Moreover, if to analyze the issue of time travels in terms of the single self-consistent timeline framework, it is possible to accept the possibility of the creation of a time machine that will move us to different eras. This theory states that if there is a certain event that might cause a time paradox that could change the history or the past, the probability of this event is zero and a time traveler is not able to create the time paradox. This theory becomes the key factor that preconditions the possibility of time travels and provides us with an opportunity to cogitate about the way we could explore the dimension of time. Besides, if to integrate the ideas of the multiverse and self-consistent timeline, we could obtain a solid basis for the further exploration of the given issue. For instance, in accordance with the first theory, using a spaceship and a wormhole we could move to some alternative universe where our alter-ego could be met.
However, we could easily communicate with him/her, exchange thoughts, feelings, emotions, and even give recommendations related to the future. These actions will not result in the appearance of the time paradox because of several reasons. Firsts, considering the fact that it is one of the dimensions that belong to the model of the multiverse, events that occur here are not necessarily the same as in our world and the future of this person will not alter because of our interference (Tegmark 4). Moreover, in accordance with the theory of a single self-consistent timeline, this meeting and its consequences could not be dangerous as it has already occurred. We could even kill our alter-ego, and this action will not have a significant impact on our own future. Resting on these theories, it is possible to assume the existence of at least theoretical possibility to create a time machine and travel through time. Hence, one should realize the fact that humanity does not possess technologies that might provide us with this very opportunity at the moment. The nature of wormholes remains unclear, and there is no spaceship that will be able to survive under the extreme conditions that are expected to be found in the heart of this unique phenomenon.
Altogether, the issue of time travels remains a topical question that gives rise to numerous debates. The evolution of science and significant progress in the exploration of space made this aspect especially exciting as these factors contributed to the appearance of the theoretical possibility to use a spaceship and a wormhole to move to another dimension and time. The undying interest to this question also conditioned the appearance of the many-world interpretation of our universe and the model of the multiverse that comprises all dimensions. Moreover, the single self-consistent timeline framework could also be used to support the idea of time travels and guarantee that it will not result in the appearance of numerous time paradoxes.
Works Cited
Tegmark, Max. The Multiverse Hierarchy. Edited by Bernard Carr, Cambridge University Press, 2007.