Dreamers and Sci-Fi authors have long worshipped the wonder that is Time Travel, ever since the publication of The Time Machine by H. G Wells, in 1895 (no, sci-fi fans. Not 1985!) but the concept had been explored before- notably by H. G Wells in 1888, in a book called “The Chronic Argonauts”. Generations since have marveled at the wonders posed by Time Travel. Could it really be possible?

Well, technically yes! We are all at this moment (ha-ha) travelling through time, and always have been that’s how we can live- things happen in an order. Time Travel in the Sci-Fi sense, however, is a good deal more difficult than simply waiting for the hours to tick by. Though you may be surprised to learn that time is not only constantly being travelled through but dilated and even infinitely stretched!

First, let us explore the latter. Long subjected to the intrigue of science fiction fans, black holes are the great cosmic plugholes that pull in everything around them; including light! Light travels incredibly fast. So how come light never escapes a black hole? The explanation is that black holes bend the spacetime inside of them so that within the black hole is simply (simply!) infinite spacetime. The light never makes it out. Therefore as space is bent, so is time, due to ‘spacetime’ being the notion that we cannot travel through space without travelling through time (in other words, we can’t teleport). So, all we have to do is load ourselves onto a spaceship and onwards to the next black hole? Absolutely not. Firstly, though the gravity across the event horizon (surface) of a black hole is constant, the gravity of a black hole is so different from one centimetre to the next that it stretches objects exponentially. This would make it a one-way trip, and even if we could overcome this somehow, it would take millennia to reach the nearest black hole. Wouldn’t it?

Not with wormholes! Another cosmic discrepancy, wormholes make travelling through space (and so time) a breeze. The next galaxy would be hours or minutes away with one of these transporting tunnels. One problem, though- we haven’t found any yet. Their existence has been predicted, but we have no examples.

One definitely real, much closer to home way of Time Travel is called time dilation. Proven to occur by the theory of relativity, it causes astronauts on the ISS to age slightly slower than those of us wandering about on the earth’s surface. It appears as though they time travel, because they return home younger than they should be. The difference, however, is miniscule.

Perhaps someday we shall discover a practical way of moving unconventionally through time, but this remains to be seen. Meanwhile, if anyone happens upon a surefire method for the infamous concept: please try not to destroy the universe with a hapless paradox.

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