The Time Traveler's process

POSTED BY: jewelstaitefan
UPDATED: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 01:48
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In 1974, Frank J. Tipler designed (but did not build) a time machine. Tipler's PhD dissertation in physics, "Causality Violation in General Relativity," was about that machine. You can read more at

http://books.google.de/books?id=39KQY1FnSfkC&q=Frank+Tipler+#v=snippet
&q=Frank%20Tipler%201974&f=false

The book that explores the confused notions about time traveling in Science Fiction is "Time machines: time travel in physics, metaphysics, and science fiction, Second Edition" by Paul J. Nahin. I learned two things: Time travel is possible. Time travel is impossible the way it is done on TV, movies, novels, and short stories. Oh, I forgot a third thing -- nobody has seen a wormhole so that might be problem if your time traveling depends on wormholes in spacetime.

If you build Tipler's time machine, you don't have to worry about the nonexistence of wormholes or materializing inside a mountain in your H.G.Wells time machine because you have much bigger problems. You'll need to find a star that no one is using. Then you'll need to build a star ship to travel there. Then you need to squeeze the star into a cylinder. Then rotate that cylinder to half the speed of light. Are you seeing the difficulties here? This Tipler time machine ain't H.G. Wells' Time Machine built in the garden shed. The good part is that Tipler's machine would work, unless Einstein completely screwed-up general relativity theory and how likely is that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipler_cylinder
http://www.geocities.com/theophysics/tipler-rotating-cylinders.pdf

A big quote from Tipler's paper because it reads so very cool if you are unafraid of the Greek alphabet:
"In 1936 van Stockum solved the Einstein equations Gμν = -8πTμν for the gravitational field of a rapidly rotating infinite cylinder. It is shown that such a field violates causality, in the sense that it allows a closed timelike line to connect any two events in spacetime. This suggests that a finite rotating cylinder would also act as a time machine.

Since the work of Hawking and Penrose, it has become accepted that classical general relativity predicts some sort of pathological behavior. However, the exact nature of the pathology is under intense debate at present, primarily because solutions to the field equations can be found which exhibit virtually any type of bizarre behavior. It is thus of utmost importance to know what types of pathologies might be expected to occur in actual physical situations. One of these pathologies is causality violation, and in this paper I shall argue that if we make the assumptions concerning the behavior of matter and manifold usual in general relativity, then it should be possible in principle to set up an experiment in which this particular pathology could be observed....

…In short, general relativity suggests that if we construct a sufficiently large rotating cylinder, we create a time machine."

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is at
www.fileden.com/files/2008/8/13/2048723/Serenity-190pages.pdf

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:


Look it up - you'll find that the more educated the voter, the higher their IQ, the more liberal they tend to be.

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The higher the IQ, the greater their ability to look up the facts and determine that your claim is patently false. Those kwickofacts are for irrational liberal consumption only.

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The traveling in The Time Traveler's Wife is pure magic. It is silly to scientifically explain what happens in that movie or in a Harry Potter movie. When numbers and logic get mentioned, I know we're not talking magic anymore. And it isn't physics, either. We're talking pure nonsense, all dressed up in let's pretend reasoning. Apologies for the snooty tone -- I'm arrogant. It is the anonymity of the Internet that made me this way.

Changing subjects, I am assuming that KWICKO and JEWELSTAITEFAN are both inside the USA. If that is the case, the two are arguing about agnosticism versus fundamentalism. It is all in their gut feelings, not in their brains. Both pretend to be rational --
"Advanced capitalism is inherently agnostic. It looks particularly flaccid when its paucity of belief runs up against an excess of the stuff -- not only abroad, but domestically too, in the form of various homegrown fundamentalisms. Modern market societies tend to be secular, relativist, pragmatic, and materialistic, qualities that undermine the metaphysical values on which political authority in part depends. And yet capitalism cannot easily dispense with those metaphysical values, even though it has difficulty taking them seriously. (As President Dwight Eisenhower once announced, channeling Groucho Marx, “Our government makes no sense unless it is founded on a deeply felt religious belief -- and I don’t care what it is.”) Religious faith in this view is both vital and vacuous. God is ritually invoked on American political platforms, but it would not do to raise him in a committee meeting of the World Bank. In the United States, ideologues of the religious Right, aware of the market’s tendency to oust metaphysics, sought to put those values back in place. Thus does postmodern relativism breed a redneck fundamentalism; those who believe very little rub shoulders with those ready to believe almost anything." There is more at http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/article.php3?id_article=2488

One more paragraph that describes what living within the Alliance would be like. Remember Book's dying words, telling Mal to believe in something, doesn't matter what? "In the face of the social devastation wreaked by economic liberalism, some besieged groups can feel secure only by clinging to an exclusivist identity or unbending doctrine. And in fact, advanced capitalism has little alternative to offer them. The kind of automated, built-in consent it seeks from its citizens does not depend all that much on what they believe. As long as they get out of bed, roll into work, consume, pay their taxes, and refrain from beating up police officers, what goes on in their heads and hearts is mostly secondary. Advanced capitalism is not the kind of regime that exacts much spiritual commitment from its subjects. Indeed, zeal is more to be feared than encouraged. That is an advantage in “normal” times, since demanding too much belief from men and women can easily backfire. But it is much less a benefit in times of political tumult."

If KWICKO and JEWELSTAITEFAN are NOT inside the USA, I have no idea what they are feuding about. They will have to let us know where they live. All I can tell for sure is that they both have opinions and nothing else in their member profiles: "No items were posted by this user." "No Information available On Subject." "No blog entries available." It is No, No, and more No for them.
http://www.fireflyfans.net/showprofile.asp?un=jewelstaitefan
http://www.fireflyfans.net/showprofile.asp?un=Kwicko


The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity", where Wash lives, is at
www.fileden.com/files/2008/8/13/2048723/Serenity-190pages.pdf

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Quote:

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Originally posted by jewelstaitefan:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:


Look it up - you'll find that the more educated the voter, the higher their IQ, the more liberal they tend to be.

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The higher the IQ, the greater their ability to look up the facts and determine that your claim is patently false.

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Is that a RapFact™?

I guess I'll never have to worry about you looking up any of your so-called "facts" then, eh? I don't think you've got the IQ for it.

Tell me - those states where there's an active push to do away with science in science classes and replace it with "intelligent design" - are those states typically "red" or "blue" states?

Now, if you'd like to continue this discussion, maybe we should take it to RWED, where it belongs.


Mike

The percentage you're paying is too high-priced
While you're living beyond all your means;
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car
From the profit he's made on your dreams

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