Time travel has always been an intriguing topic for many. In a sense, we all travel through time. If 1 minutes has passed, then we have traveled 1 minute through time. Time is perceived as an unstoppable, articulate force. Now, the more specific question we should be asking is, “Can we travel 3 hours forward/ backward in a time frame in which us humans experience it as only an hour?” In 1916, a well-known scientist named Albert Einstein created a theory called “the theory of general relativity”. He theorized that time can be viewed a lot more as a variable than anything. It was described that time can change within “perspectives” and that strong gravity could bend time. For example, time may be slower in a strong gravitational field, but be faster for someone further away. Another one of his theory, widely known as “the theory of special relativity”, implied that objects moving at extremely high speeds could “skip” through time. The faster a person travels through space, the slower time may be observed upon by a stationary viewer. As a side note, both theories have been proven to be correct through GPS satellite technology.

Now, this creates 2 very plausible methods of “time traveling”. First, let’s use Einstein’s theory of special relativity. Let’s say I went on a space trip to a faraway planet, and the trip took 10 years. If I was traveling at a speed as fast, or as close to the speed of light, around 100 years would have passed on Earth. Unfortunately, this method would only be a one-way trip to the future. The next method uses the theory of general relativity. Knowing that strong gravity could bend time, it creates opportunities for things like wormholes to exist. If in fact, wormholes do exist, one possible method to travel to the PAST would be taking a wormhole and substantially speeding up one side of it. Going through the wormhole would distort time and bring you back in time. Overall, both theories are a very possible method, but the amount of energy and technology needed to operate such a project may be millions of years too early.

Knowing that time travel is possible, it creates some paradoxes that could occur. A famous one is the grandfather paradox. What would happen if a time traveler was to travel back in time and kill his own parents/grandparents, making it so the time traveler was never born to kill in the first place? As farfetched as it may sound, some scientists believe that this would create alternate timelines in which one of them was born, and one wasn’t. Others believe this is the reason time travel is not possible. In conclusion, traveling through time is a very tough subject, but I believe that one day we will be able to prove these plausible theories correct and show that in fact, the impossible can sometimes become our reality.

Part 2

1. What questions did you need to research in order to research your topic?

In order to research my topic, these were a few guiding questions I had to research=

What is the theory of special relativity?

What is the theory of general relativity?

What are the paradoxes that could occur in time travel?

How does time work?

Do wormholes exist?

2. What new or familiar digital tools did you try to use as you worked through this project?

I used google search to find websites to gather my info, YouTube to find a video explaining time travel, citation machine for my citations, and google pictures for some pics.

3. What was the process you used to investigate the topic?

First, I had to use my guiding questions to further understand the full “image” and make sure I was getting the right info. Once I found multiple credible/trusted websites I put bits and pieces of info from all my sources together and created the project.

4. How did you verify and cite the information you found?

First, the websites I used were websites like Gale and NASA, so they were already credible, but I wanted to double check that all my info was correct, and so I corroborated the info with other websites and verified that the info I was getting was credible.

5. How did the process of completing this challenge go? What could you have done better?

Overall, the process of completing this challenge was very fun and successful. I’ve learned a lot about time traveling while researching this topic and was able to put all my findings into this project. While I believe that I did well on this assignment, there is always room for improvement. One thing that I could’ve improved on was maybe making the project a bit longer and going more into depth as the subject of time travel is relatively heavy. In conclusion, this project was a great learning experience.

A video for further explanation:

Citations:

“Is Time Travel Possible?” Gale , go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Reference&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm¤tPosition=1&docId=GALE|CV2643750281&docType=Topic overview&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=SCIC&contentSet=GALE|CV2643750281&searchId=R1&userGroupName=43riss&inPS=true.

Is time travel possible? (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2018, from https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/dr-marc-space/time-travel.html

Howell, E. (2017, November 15). Time Travel: Theories, Paradoxes & Possibilities. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/21675-time-travel.html

Redd, N. T. (2017, November 08). Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html

According to current physical theory, is it possible for a human being to travel through time? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/according-to-current-phys/

Howell, E. (2018, May 26). Is Time Travel Possible? Scientists Explore the Past and Future. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/40716-time-travel-science-fiction-reality.html