Beam Me Up: 'Teleportation' Is Year's Biggest Breakthrough

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

He has a multi-core processor. One for each reality.

So when you time travel you don't just make a new reality, but a new core as well?

Getting back on track... sort of... if going back in time makes a new reality then how come we happen to be in the one "original" or "true" reality? Isn't that reminiscent of the old "earth is the centre of the universe" theory?

[onelifecrisis]

Also, if time travel creates alternate realities then a time travel machine that works would result in the traveller disappearing and never, ever returning (to that reality) which would mean it would be indistinguishable from a machine that just vaporises anyone stupid enough to get in it. That would make it kind of difficult to test.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

So when you time travel you don't just make a new reality, but a new core as well?

It also partitions his hard drive, but thats a whole other discussion...

Getting back on track... sort of... if going back in time makes a new reality then how come we happen to be in the one "original" or "true" reality? Isn't that reminiscent of the old "earth is the centre of the universe" theory?

Or it could be said that this universe is the center of our reality.

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Also, if time travel creates alternate realities then a time travel machine that works would result in the traveller disappearing and never, ever returning (to that reality) which would mean it would be indistinguishable from a machine that just vaporises anyone stupid enough to get in it. That would make it kind of difficult to test.

Not really, in any reaction no matter is created or destroyed. This is a fundamental law of physics. A through examination of the machine would show that all the matter in the traver's body either was converted to another state (destroyed) or is not there anymore (sent to another reality).

[onelifecrisis]

Or it could be said that this universe is the center of our reality.

I'm not sure what you mean.
If time travel is possible and it creates new realities then every time something travels through time a reality is created in which something or someone just popped into existence. How come we're not in one of those realities? Do we just happen to be in the "original" reality?

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Not really, in any reaction no matter is created or destroyed. This is a fundamental law of physics. A through examination of the machine would show that all the matter in the traver's body either was converted to another state (destroyed) or is not there anymore (sent to another reality).

My use of the word "vaporised" was... let's call it artistic license. The point is that you wouldn't know where it went or what state it arrived in. All you'd know is that it disappeared. You could say "I made a machine that makes things disappear! REALLY disappear!" and someone would probably give you a physics prize, but I bet you couldn't persuade anyone to get in and go for a ride. Even if you could, you'd still have no idea whether you'd made a time travel machine or just a "vaporizer".

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

I'm not sure what you mean.
If time travel is possible and it creates new realities then every time something travels through time a reality is created in which something or someone just popped into existence. How come we're not in one of those realities? Do we just happen to be in the "original" reality?

With out knowing that a time travel event occurred they we can't know.

My use of the word "vaporised" was whimsical. The point is that you wouldn't know where it went or what state it arrived in. All you'd know is that it disappeared. You could say "I made a machine that makes things disappear! REALLY disappear!" and someone would probably give you a physics prize, but I bet you couldn't persuade anyone to get in and go for a ride. Even if you could, you'd still have no idea whether you'd made a time travel machine or a "vaporizer".

Well you are assuming that someone just tossed a bunch of parts together and declared it a time machine. How to construct a time machine is actually know, but insanely difficult to do- it involves wormholes, black holes and near light speed velocities. In such a case matter can travel both ways though a wormhole allowing the traveler to return and confirm the trip.

[onelifecrisis]

I thought wormholes were supposed to connect regions of space-time within our reality, not connect to other realities.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

I thought wormholes were supposed to connect regions of space-time within our reality, not connect to other realities.

As I understand it they can both connect to other realities.

Isn’t time travel by wormhole or any other means impossible due to the paradoxes that it implies?
Not necessarily. Dealing with time travel paradoxes by conjecturing the impossibility of time travel is only one of three ways of resolving the issue. The other ways are:
1) Impose self consistency on classical physics: A time traveler cannot change the past because he was always part of it. When he attempts to change the past, his efforts will be thwarted by an apparent conspiracy of events. 2) Impose self consistency on quantum physics: A time traveler cannot change the past because all possible pasts have already occurred in parallel universes. When he attempts to change the past, his efforts will not seem to him to be thwarted. This is because he will have entered the past of a preexisting parallel universe in which he has already made the changes that he seeks to effect.

http://www.webfilesuci.org/WormholeFAQ.html

[DarkFish]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

How to construct a time machine is actually know, but insanely difficult to do- it involves wormholes, black holes and near light speed velocities. In such a case matter can travel both ways though a wormhole allowing the traveler to return and confirm the trip.

So until someone invents the portable wormhole a time machine is not just insanely difficult but impossible to make

[Diopos]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

...
Not really, in any reaction no matter is created or destroyed. This is a fundamental law of physics. A through examination of the machine would show that all the matter in the traver's body either was converted to another state (destroyed) or is not there anymore (sent to another reality).

Mass is "destroyed" or "created" all the time producing or expending equivalent amounts of energy. E=mc² and all that. It's the sum of mass and energy that remains constant. Atomic bomb anyone? BUT in systems where you don't have nuclear reactions or sub atomic particle """transformations""" mass is preserved ... pending further investigation


.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Diopos

Mass is "destroyed" or "created" all the time producing or expending equivalent amounts of energy. E=mc² and all that. It's the sum of mass and energy that remains constant. Atomic bomb anyone? BUT in systems where you don't have nuclear reactions or sub atomic particle """transformations""" mass is preserved ... pending further investigation


.

But mass is not matter. You can add mass by increasing speed but the matter in an object does not increase.

[kiwi_2005]

Wouldn't it be great if we all had a teleporter machine in our living rooms as common as the television. Just hop on the teleporter and zap to your destination, forgot to do that report for your boss and time is up go back 24hrs and start on it. Haha. Not in our lifetime.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

Wouldn't it be great if we all had a teleporter machine in our living rooms as common as the television. Just hop on the teleporter and zap to your destination, forgot to do that report for your boss and time is up go back 24hrs and start on it. Haha. Not in our lifetime.

Is that really the best use you can think of for a teleporter/time machine? Redo a report for your boss?

[Diopos]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

But mass is not matter. You can add mass by increasing speed but the matter in an object does not increase.

Ahh. We're getting dirty aren't we?!
Relativistically speaking you are correct. Mass is a measure of inertia rather than amount of substance. But when you wrote: "Not really, in any reaction no matter is created or destroyed" you were actually using a phrase directly pointing to the "conservation of mass law" as formulated by Antoine Lavoisier. Back then the universe was Newtonian and matter mattered!!!

.

Ahhhh...............

Now my head hurts!!!!

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Diopos

Ahh. We're getting dirty aren't we?!
Relativistically speaking you are correct. Mass is a measure of inertia rather than amount of substance. But when you wrote: "Not really, in any reaction no matter is created or destroyed" you were actually using a phrase directly pointing to the "conservation of mass law" as formulated by Antoine Lavoisier. Back then the universe was Newtonian and matter mattered!!!

.

Ahhh, Antoine Lavoisier! That was the guy I was thinking of but couldn't remember his name. He was put to death during the French Revolution and his wife took over his quest to study matter IIRC.