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Wide Angle: Surfing Spacetime

Warp speed and time travel are the fodder of sci-fi plot lines, but is there any real physics behind the fiction?
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Warped Out

space time travel einstein kaku sci-fi physics
Ever wanted to jump into the past, or the future? Ever wondered if mankind will be able to zip between the stars faster than the speed of light? These ideas are no longer sci-fi, scientists think we'll be able to do these things... eventually. Credit: iStockPhoto
 

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Space and time are intimately linked. Albert Einstein published his famous Theory of General Relativity in 1916, and since then it has become key to our understanding about how our universe works.

Nearly a century after the idea of spacetime was first formulated, scientists have been able to explain black holes, wormholes, the curvature of spacetime and time dilation.

How can space be warped by humans traveling the vast distances between the planets and stars? Can time be stretched and skewed so we can go into the future and the past? Science fiction talks about time travel and faster-then-light-speed propulsion as if it is already a reality, but what does science think? Check out this warped Wide Angle to find out.


  • News: Warp Drive Engine Could Suck Earth Into Black Hole
    Star Trek makes faster-than-light travel look easy, but could the reality behind warp speed be more destructive? According to Italian physicists, starting up your warp drive could produce a black hole...

  • Interview: Dark Energy and Surfing Spacetime
    The Starship Enterprise uses it to jump from star to star, but is warp speed physically possible? Yes, says warp drive propulsion expert Dr. Richard Obousy, so long as we understand "dark energy" first.

  • HowStuffWorks: Top 5 Time Travel Methods
    In many works of science fiction, the time machine is just a magical plot device. Plausible? Check out our pick of five methods of sci-fi time travel to find out.

  • Blog: Twisted Physics
    "No Fate But What We Make?" -- Jennifer Ouellette investigates the science fiction and science fact behind time travel.

  • Blog: Cosmic Ray
    "Are We Ready to Live on Other Planets?" -- Will advanced interplanetary propulsion technologies render the International Space Station useless?

  • Video: 2057: Time Travel
    Is time travel possible? Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku explores the possibilities.

  • HowStuffWorks: How Warp Speed Works
    Warp speed is obviously a very useful mode of spaceship propulsion if you're writing the plot of the next "Star Trek" movie -- after all, you don't want the plot to span decades while waiting for Kirk and co. to travel from star to star.

  • Interview: Antimatter Might Power Future Spaceships
    Spacecraft powered by antimatter aren't just for Star Trek -- they're theoretically possible. We chat with antimatter expert George Schmidt.

  • News: Warp Drive Engine Would Travel Faster Than Light
    Two Baylor University physicists (including Richard Obousy) have outlined how a faster-than-light engine, or warp drive, could be created that would bend but not break the laws of physics.

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