Scientists Admit We May Now Be Closer Than Ever to Understanding Time Travel

But how would James Franco use this technology?

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

For some, the idea of realistically achieving the ability to travel through time is a thankless pipe dream. For others, each passing day is but another 24-hour block of dreaming about how to best alter history once the surely inevitable technology comes along to make time travel as easy as swiping a bus pass. Somewhere in between, we have this guy:

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

In a decidedly fresh interview with The Daily Beast, theoretical physicist David Spergel offers some cautious optimism for anyone currently planning the order in which to erase past regrettable behavior from their existence thanks to the has-to-be-coming-soon developments that will enable actual time travel. In fact, Spergel notes, one such development may have already occurred.

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

"There are still a lot of ifs there, starting with the existence of negative mass particles and wormholes being stable," Spergel tells the Daily Beast's Michael Howard. "But general relativity’s equations—which gave us black holes, and we see very strong evidence for them with LIGO—are telling us that that would permit time travel." As your (hopefully daily) habit of scientific Googling surely alerted you last week, a group of scientists recently made the history-making move of recording the sound of two black holes crashing into each other a billion light-years away. As true Albert Einstein heads will note, this seals the deal on his general theory of relativity.

Speaking of amazing people with science-forward minds, here's Neil deGrasse Tyson breaking that down as only he can:

View this video on YouTube

youtube.com

According to Spergel, who also serves as the chair of Princeton University’s astronomy and astrophysics department, these developments regarding general relativity may prove to be essential in furthering the understanding of time travel. Though that's not a full-blown co-sign of time travel as the inevitable joyride so many of us have been dreaming about our entire lives, it's certainly not bad news.

See you in the future. Or the past. Or anywhere! Time travel has no rules (yet).

Latest in Life