Re: "Time Distortion" and Light

Wm Perry ( (no email) )
Tue, 13 Apr 1999 17:21:24 -1000

I seem to remember an article in Discover magazine several years ago,
discussing the possibility of time travel in a balloon. The time-traveller
wanna-be sits inside the balloon. The balloon is constructed in such a
fashion as to be able to expand and contract very rapidly. The key idea here
is that when the balloon contracts to very small dimensions around the
time-traveller wanna-be, the gravity density for the traveller will be more
than when the balloon is expanded out. This is supposed to distort the
passage of time in the balloon. You would think that the distortions would
all even out and after a few minutes, you'd come out feeling like a solitary
sardine. But, any minor fluctuations in the expand/contract sequence and the
balloon would create an "uneven" distortion. Only thing is the person inside
would have to "live" through the entire thing. Doesn't really promise much
in the way of travel into the past, tho.
BillP

Steve wrote:
>Interesting message, I've been wondering the same thing for a while
>now, and you phrased the question quite well. :)
>
>One theory I came up with regarding how a time bubble would look
>to outside observers, is a perfect mirror.. everything is reflected
>back, all light, sound, everything. I imagine it might not be a good
>idea to touch a time bubble, if that's even possible. Maybe the
>energy field would distort spacetime enough that the surface of the
>bubble would actually be "solid". There's a document on KeelyNet
>regarding electrostatic force fields that were impossible to pass
>through. I can look up the URL, unless anyone knows it?
>
>This may be totally unrealistic, but I had a cool idea of a spherical
>time distortion that was mirrored and shimmering, like water. When
>someone came in contact with it, it rippled, like touching water, but
>their hand couldn't pass through it. Even if it's just a crazy idea,
>it might be interesting to add to a sci-fi story.. comments?
>
>ttyl
>-Steve
>