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The notion of time travel is one that captivates humans of every age, in every country and culture on the planet. Who among us hasn't dreamed of going back in time (as we know it) to change something or, at the very least, get a chance to see a loved one who is no longer with us?
My Travel Plans
I myself would love to go back in time and see my paternal great-grandfather during World War I, when he was with the 77th Aero Squadron, and learn about his life after the war. I never met my great-grandfather, as he was gone before my time, but my father knew him really well, and he inspired my father to serve his country during the Vietnam War.
Speaking of Vietnam... I would love to visit my father in Vietnam during his time with MASS-3 in Da Nang, specifically at Hill 327, also known as "Freedom Hill," which was his favorite assignment out of three tours. Seeing a younger version of my mother as an idealistic youth would also be interesting.
I have a very vivid memory; I remember every little detail of my life. But seeing how everything came to be is of great interest to me. I think it would add context and fill in some blanks, helping me better understand my own personal history.
Einstein Was Right
On July 13, 2019, it was revealed that scientists successfully photographed quantum entanglement[1] for the first time—once and for all proving Albert Einstein's spooky "impossible" theory true. This has significant implications for the future of science as a whole.
Although Einstein's theory has been validated, it means very little for the possibility of time travel—at least for now. In my opinion, our current understanding of quantum mechanics (collectively) is, dare I say, limited at best.
Time Travel In Literature
The topic of time travel has been a trope of the science fiction genre for over a century, ever since an author by the name of H.G. Wells (you may have heard of him) wrote the famous novella titled The Time Machine in 1895. You might recognize that title; it has been adapted into several movies.
H.G. Wells, for his part, is widely considered the father of science fiction itself and contributed numerous stories to the genre until his death in 1946. He's also often credited with being the first person to put the idea of time travel via a device or machine into human consciousness.
However, stories involving time travel go back even further than 1895, with The Chronic Argonauts, published in 1888 and also written by H.G. Wells, focusing on a machine as the vehicle for time travel.
The Clock That Went Backward, published in 1881 and written by Edward Page Mitchell, is the first story to involve a machine. Let's not forget Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, or Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle, published in 1819.
The idea of time travel even predates these, going back further to the early 1700s. Samuel Madden's Memoirs of the Twentieth Century, published in 1733, is a prime example. The point is that the idea of time travel has been around for hundreds of years, and those who came before us recognized its potential early on. The ability to travel in time as we know it would truly change the world as we know it.
The biggest obstacle, though, is our government. Should a travel method be discovered, it's highly unlikely we would hear about it—because whoever holds the secret controls the paradigm. Scientists, namely physicists, have largely dismissed and scoffed at the idea of time travel over the last century.
Science Is Always Changing
It was previously believed that travel to the past wasn't possible—specifically because time isn't multi-directional and, in four-dimensional space, time only goes one way. Recently, a young physicist at the University of Queensland, under the direct supervision of Dr. Fabio Costa, proved that "time travel" is mathematically[2] possible.
The thing to remember about science—and this is especially true of theories—is that they both change over time. What was once believed to be impossible is often possible years later.
It's important not to be close-minded and to keep an open mind about possibilities like time travel, because while we like to think we have all the answers, humans really don't know much of anything at all—if anything, just a mere fraction of what is possible.
Time Dilation
No longer just a theory, Einstein's special relativity, published in 1905, states that travel to the distant future is possible through the effects of time dilation[3].
If you were to get into a spaceship and leave Earth's gravitational pull—and achieve the speed of light or faster—when you came back, it could be decades, centuries, or even eons later, depending on how fast you traveled and how long you stayed away.
This is because time is slower for you while the stationary object—in this case, Earth—continues to age normally.
Final Thought
It's not just time travel that is impacted by quantum entanglement being real; teleportation is now a possibility, in addition to warp drives, for example. Sure, that last one sounds like Star Trek, but just because it sounds silly doesn't make it any less possible.
Now all we need is for the government and the powers that be to step aside and allow these advancements to progress. Regardless, I look forward to seeing how these scientific developments unfold over time.