The Twin Paradox
(JKB)
A profound consequence of Einstein''s special theory
of relativity is that no material object can travel as fast as light. It is
forbidden. There is a commandment: Thou shalt not travel at the speed of light,
and there''s nothing we can do to travel that fast.
The reason this is connected with time travel is because another consequence of
special relativity is that time, as measured by the speeding space traveler,
slows down compared to time as measured by a friend left home on Earth. This is
sometimes described as the -twin paradox: two identical twins, one
of whom goes off on a voyage close to the speed of light, and the other one
stays home. When the space-traveling twin returns home, he or she has aged only
a little, while the twin who has remained at home has aged at the regular pace.
So we have two identical twins who may be decades apart in age. Or maybe the
traveling twin returns in the far future, if you go close enough to the speed
of light, and everybody he knows, everybody he ever heard of has died, and it''s
a very different civilization.
It''s an intriguing idea, and it underscores the fact that time travel into the
indefinite future is consistent with the laws of nature. It''s only travel
backwards in time that is the source of the debate and the tingling sensations
that physicists and science-fiction readers delight in.
Resumos Relacionados
- The Time Traveler''s Wife
- The Fatal Sugession
- Comedy Of Errors
- Grandfather Paradox
- Where Angels Fear To Tread
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