Faster Than Light Travel pt2

This is science, NOT fiction co't

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello listeners. I cannot thank you enough for stopping by
for another episode of the Time Travel Unravel podcast, a
show dedicated to the all the what ifs of time travel.
It's a fascinating topic. You should be aware that this
week's episode is a continuation of last week's episode. We

(00:23):
got into the hypotheticals of faster than light time travel.
We're going to pick it up to day with the
quantum mechanics of said faster than light time travel. It's
not all science fiction, folks. Quantum entanglement describes a phenomenon

(00:52):
where two particles become linked in such a way that
the state of one particle instantly affects the state of another,
regardless of distance. This has led some theorists to speculate
about the possibility of using entanglement for faster than light

(01:13):
time travel communication at least or information transfer. While this
wouldn't allow for traditional time travel, it challenges our understanding
of causality and could theoretically enable instantaneous interactions over vast distances,

(01:41):
hinting at faster than like principles. Quantum tunneling is the
process where particles pass through barriers that they theoretically should
not be able to. Some scientists have speculated that this

(02:05):
phenomena could be harnessed to tunnel through space time barriers,
such as those that would typically prevent faster than like travel.
Though still largely theoretical, this concept could form the basis
of future technologies for faster than like movement. Time travel

(02:31):
at the quantum level could theoretically be possible through quantum
superposition and the many World's interpretation. If particles can exist
in multiple states at once, it raises the possibility of

(02:54):
branching timelines, with the traveler affecting one of these states,
but not necessarily altering the original timeline. This is an
important distinction when considering how quantum mechanics might help resolve
time travel paradoxes. The grandfather paradox is perhaps the most

(03:23):
famous of time travel paradoxes, when a person travels back
in time and kills their grandfather before the time traveler
is born. This would create a logical contradiction, as the
time traveler could not have existed to carry out the
action in the first place. Various theories include the Novkov

(03:49):
principle or the idea of parallel timelines, which suggests ways
in which such a paradox might be avoided, but the
resolution remains speculative. The Nalkov principle states that if time

(04:12):
travel were possible, the laws of physics would ensure that
time traveling actions could not create contradictions. Any event that
might alter history in an inconsistent way would be prevented
by natural processes. For instance, if a time traveler were

(04:36):
to kill their grandfather, something might intervene to prevent the
action from being completed, such as accident or unintended delay.
In Many World's interpretation suggests that every possible outcome of

(04:57):
a quantum event happens in any separate universe, effectively creating
parallel timelines. In this interpretation, when a time traveler changes
the past, they don't affect their original timeline. Instead, they
create a branching universe. This theory allows for time travel

(05:23):
without paradoxes, as it posits that each action creates a
new branch in the multiverse rather than altering a singular timeline. Next,
let's take a look at the energy challenges of faster
than light travel. Any attempt at FTL travel would require

(05:51):
manipulating space time itself. This would demand extraordinary amounts of energy.
The a Kubi air drive, for example, has been estimated
to require negative energy or mass in quantities far beyond
anything we currently understand or can produce. This could require

(06:17):
resources comparable to the entire mass energy of a planet
or even a star, making it infeasible with current technology.
Zero point energy is the energy present in the vacuum
of space due to quantum fluctuations. Some theorists suggest that

(06:43):
harnessing zero point energy might provide the necessary power for
FTL travel. However, we are currently unable to extract or
control zero point energy, and even if this were possible,
it would be a monumental technological leap to use it

(07:04):
for FTL propulsion. Even if IFTL travel were possible, it
would come with enormous practical challenges. The risks of time
dilation could cause significant disorientation and aging differences between travelers
and those left behind. Additionally, traveling through orped space time

(07:30):
might cause unforeseen problems, such as creating gravitational waves or
even damaging space time itself. The potential for unintended consequences,
such as creating black holes or rifts in space time
would also be a major concern. Quantum entanglement has prompted

(07:56):
speculation that it might enable fact faster than light communication. However,
quantum theory suggests that entanglement doesn't transmit usable information faster
than light, as the information only becomes accessible when the
entangled particles are measured simultaneously. This creates potential issues for

(08:21):
FDL communication, particularly in terms of breaking causality. If faster
than like communication were possible, it could lead to time paradoxes,
where messages sent to the past could change events before
they are received. This raises significant concerns about whether the

(08:46):
universe could maintain logical consistency if causality could be violated.
The idea of faster than like communication being linked to
time traveling closely related to the theory of closed timelike curves.

(09:06):
If information could be sent back in time, it could
create causial loops and paradoxes similar to those seen in
time travel narratives. These implications raise questions about the feasibility
of such technologies and whether the laws of physics would

(09:27):
naturally prevent such scenarios from occurring. Next, let's take a
look at FTL in popular culture. The warp drive from
Star Trek has become the archetype of FTL travel in
popular culture. It is based on the concept of manipulating

(09:49):
the space itself to allow ships to travel faster than light.
The Star Trek franchise also explores the consequences of FTL
travel on time causality, including time loops and alternate realities,
though it often uses a fictional, non scientific basis for

(10:10):
its technology. HG. Wevell's The Time Machine is one of
the earliest examples of FTL time travel, where the protagonist
uses a time machine to travel through time. The time
Machine represents a mechanical approach to moving through time, while
many modern sci fi narratives use concepts like wormholes to

(10:32):
explain time travel. Folks, unfortunately we've run out of time
for today's episode, and I can't thank you enough for listening.
Until next time.