WARP DRIVE POSSIBLE TV

His research focused on theoretical elementary particle physics, but while on sabbatical at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 1967, he came across an article by Columbia University’s Gerald Feinberg about the possibility of a class of particles, called tachyons, that always travel faster than the speed of light. Photo: Joanie TobinEverett wasn’t always interested in time travel. He explains the physics and the common sense objections to both notions, but allows that given some very specific conditions-and advances in scientific knowledge-either could be possible, even if the probability is still infinitesimal.Īllen Everett taught at Tufts for 42 years before retiring in 2002. He and co-author Thomas Roman, a professor at Central Connecticut State University, delve into the physics of time travel, and as you might expect, it’s much more complicated than Star Trek or Robert Heinlein would have you think.Įverett, who taught at Tufts for 42 years before retiring in 2002, opens with a bold move: he doesn’t dismiss the idea of warp speed or time travel. Now a new book, Time Travel and Warp Drives (University of Chicago Press), by Allen Everett, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences, explores the potential of dipping back to another century. Tufts faculty have occasionally taught courses on just those topics primarily for non-science majors to learn more about the laws of physics.

WARP DRIVE POSSIBLE TV

Who hasn’t dreamed of time travel, going back in time and saying the right thing instead of the wrong thing, seeing Lincoln give the Gettysburg address-or buying Apple stock when it was $10 a share? Many a science fiction novel and TV show are premised on just that possibility, and we happily suspend disbelief, at least for the moment, before landing back in the here and now.įor a few scientists, time travel and its cousin, warp drive-spacecraft traveling faster than the speed of light-are intriguing indeed.

Warp drive possible