Five of

Ok, so I don't think I'm going to talk about multidimensional backwards time travel in this entry either. Inventing words is fun. :o

Let's talk about the Doomsday Clock instead. If you're unfamiliar, the Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 as a metaphor for how close the world was to nuking itself off the interstellar map. It also was quasi-featured in Watchmen. In 1998, it was at 9 minutes 'til midnight, by 2002 it had jumped to 7 minutes, and in 2007, once again to 5 minutes 'til.

Though, I don't expect it to stay that way for much longer. North Korea announced today that any attempts to interfere with it's sovereignty as a nation (which includes attempting to force them to abandon their nuclear programs and disarm their facilities), would result in a "merciless attack".

Now, from a rational point of view, launching any sort of nuclear attack is just deep fried stupid. For one, if the US doesn't retaliate then it creates the impression that the way to get what you want on a global scale is to just nuke off a chunk of the opposing country. If the US does retaliate, then N. Korea will probably follow suit, and well. . . badness ensues. Either way pretty much ends with something along the lines of WWIII. This is why (hopefully) no one is going to set off a nuke any time soon. Though my confidence in that statement is seriously starting to falter.

When it comes to the end of the world, I don't think I'm alone in thinking nuking ourselves out of existence is pretty lame. It really makes the whole "sucked into a black hole by the LHC" thing not look half bad.

Of course, I don't actually think the LHC will create black holes that will eventually eat the world. However, as far as ways to destroy yourself go, that's way better than nuclear warfare. If I could pick between the two, I'd take the matter munching black hole every time. While dying as an unexpected side effect of a scientific experiment, would be less than intelligent on our part, death in the name of curiosity and discovery is at least respectable on some level. Death in the name of who's got the bigger missle. . .not so much.

And, c'mon, if you're going to self destruct, you might as well rip a giant sucking hole in the fabric of the universe and take the whole damn galaxy with you. So much more dignified than a global pissing match gone wrong.

Twist of fate

Before I start, if anyone knows a good website for Doctor Who spoilers, please let me know, that'd be brilliant. Thanks :)

And on that note, I'm going to blather on about one of my favorite subjects, theoretical time travel. I mentioned yesterday that the many worlds theory opens up to us a rather nontraditional means of time travel. But before I get into that, let's talk about the traditional version open to us.

It is possible to travel into the future. Theoretically, anyway. Many worlds, one world, doesn't matter, travel to the future is quite possible in quantum physics. There's a few different ways to make this possible. There's the good ol' Einstein way, where you simply sit in a space ship going faster than the speed of light, and let the rest of the Universe age around you.

There's also a concept of limited two way travel developed by Professor Ronald Mallet at the University of Connecticut. His ideas are pretty wild, and fairly awesome, though his theories contain some pretty large holes as well (and not the cool, wormhole type). However, I think he's fantastic nonetheless, simply because he's trying. So few scientists out there are willing to spend time and energy on flights of fancy such as time and space travel. Its simply not profitable in this silly reality we've created for ourselves, where the highest authority is the almighty dollar bill.

Mallet's idea is to create a time machine, he's using light as his basis, laser light to be exact. The science behind the idea is fairly beyond me, but involves the twisting of spacetime to create a closed loop circuit from one time period, to another. The overall concept is that once his time machine is activated, people may travel through it to the future, or backwards up until the point when the machine was switched on.

Sounds to me, the sooner we flip that switch, the better.

Mallet's theories are based on Einstein's theory of relativity, and rely on a quickly circulating light to literally bore a hole into the future through the walls of our timeline. Nifty, no? While he still needs funding for the project, he predicts it could be ready to go within ten years.

Of course, within ten years we're not going to go jumping through Mallet's laser light show and pop out in the brave new world of the future. He's currently working on sending neutrons through the machine, then slowly working his way up to the point where the rest of us can do the time warp.

The really interesting thing about Mallet's idea, is that he'll quite possibly know as soon as he flips that switch whether or not it was a success. He predicts that when he turns it on, neutrons from future experiments he plans on conducting, will start to appear, having been sent back in time by his future self while testing the machine.

The overall goal of this machine is to create a time loop. One that starts when Mallet's machine is first turned on, and ends at the date that it is switched off. Whether or not a controlled, closed time loop such as this can be created, is purely theoretical, but Mallet seems really convinced.

What makes me less optimistic about this approach, is that Mallet plans on using substitutions for the needed equipment. That alone seems odd, when you invent a recipe, you generally don't substitute ingredients right off the bat. Without getting too technical, the issue arises because in order to create this loop, Mallet doesn't just need circulating lights, but to physically bend the light. The crystals he is using to create the laser light, don't allow for the bending of light without fracturing it. So, the light is traveling in a straight line, which is utterly useless to the antsy time traveler. Rather than try and develop the technology necessary, he has created a one dimensional singularity to act as a "geometric constraint" to bend the light around the helix in the vacuum of his machine. Ok, maybe that did get a bit technical towards the end. The bottom line is, he's currently planning on using knock-off parts, which is never a good idea.

The other major issue is that in order to create the loop a large amount of energy would be needed, beyond anything we could supply, and the tear in time would actually be larger than the entire observable universe. Mind blowing to try and picture, really. Mallet believes that he can artificially slow the speed of light, and as the speed drops, so does the energy requirement, and the size of the wrinkle in time. If the speed of light is reduced enough, the energy required to jumpstart the machine becomes attainable. But, in slowing the speed of light, you loose your brainy backing from Einstein, as the theory of relativity uses the speed of light as a constant (i.e. something that does not change). It also becomes an issue because Mallet needs to slow light within a vacuum, and while you can artificially slow the speed of ligth by throwing obsticals in its way (water etc.) the whole idea is that nothing exists inside a vacuum, so there's no obsticals to throw at the light. As it stands now it seems Mallet has abandonded the slow light idea, in the interest of seeking out other alternatives.

However, as I said, I very much admire this man. Here is man who dared to dream the impossible, and has dedicated his life to changing our concept of what is possible. While his initial theory needs some working out, there is hope. Steven Hawking published a paper back in 1992, which stated that closed loop time circuits are theoretically possible. So while Mallet hasn't worked out all the kinks yet, he's definitely on the right track. So bravo Professor Mallet for having the drive to stay with your dreams no matter how impossible they may be.

Hmmm. . .looks like I'll have to get into the many worlds theory of time travel later, as for now, I'm out of time. . .

What if.

There's one particular theory in quantum physics I like. I like it, because it literally means, all things are possible. The many worlds theory. The concept of a "multiverse" reality isn't just a clever way to pander to DC fanboys Sometimes, the things we imagine are possible, in this particular theory, everything we imagine is.

As the theory goes, anything can and will happen, somewhere, at least. There is another world for every decision, ever made. In this world it doesn't happen, and therefore in another world it does. The thought arose when people were getting down to the molecular nitty gritty. Down at the subatomic level, things begin to behave, oddly. It's as if the laws of physics, as we know it, cease to exist. If that wasn't cool enough, the reason many worlds suggests for this, is that the walls between realities begin to break down. So when it appears particles are just disappearing, or bumping into things, it's because they are, they're falling in holes in another universe, or banging into it's own counterpart on the other side of a crumbling barrier between the worlds. The implications for that, are actually far reaching, allowing for an odd form of time travel to be theoretically possible. . .though not where I'm going with this today.

In m theory, it has been proposed by some that there are at least 11 dimensions within each reality. That these dimensions are curled up, like sprouts, coiled and very thin, so that when looking directly at them, the various dimensions are not able to be seen. The belief in these extra dimensions, are that when equations are drawn assuming 11 dimensions, instead of the usual 4 (3 dimensions of space, and one of time), a unified theory of everything can be created. All the major branches of physics and their various laws, interlock, and complete a puzzle.

Of course this is all theory, very little practice, and damnit Jim I'm a. . .well I'm not a doctor, but I'm no physicist either. . .

I'm not one for math and numbers, despite being fascinated by the theories they support. My thoughts are more, right brained. . .or is it left? Whichever one is more flighty.

And maybe that's why it makes me much more willnig to accept both of these theories. To me, if it's possible that there are 11 dimensions, areas of the universe, that we cannot see, because they are coiled up and hidden in the fabric of our reality, then maybe the same can be said for whole universes.

And that, would be fantastic.

When it comes to multiple realities, they're generally described as branches on a tree. Like a family history, each time a decision is made, the two outcomes branch out and create their own world around that decision. If that's the case, which world is the first? And what happened to create the first branches? Which world is this even? And do the divisions keep happening within each reality, second by second? Who's choice created our world? And how serious a decision need it be to be the catalyst for all of creation?

When I choose my socks this morning, was I playing God?

The Curse of Humanity

To some, it may be easy to view humanity as a curse. I'm sure the other species on this planet that we have trampled over on our way to the top, frequently regard us as that. But, this is not what is meant by "the curse of humanity." For all our faults, I do not believe humanity to be a curse, though I do believe our race is the victim of a curse. Perhaps the worst in existence.

It's hard to think of humanity as cursed. Given how rapidly we've climbed our way to the top of the food chain, dominating other, more physically imposing, species, with ease, and spreading out to every corner of the globe.

But we are.

The same voice that pushed us out of the trees, the same urge to fall, or maybe to fly, that sent us barreling into one conflict after another, until we had conquered all the excitement our tiny planet held, is fueled by this curse.

And, like all the best curses, it presents itself in the form of a gift.

Imagination. Our advantage over more, reality driven species. Spurned from our mutated and expanded prefrontal cortex, home to our emotions, our humanity. . .and that voice. The ever present voice. What makes mankind unique, the ability to dream about impossible things, is also what makes us all quite mad.

You may not notice it at first. We all handle the madness in a different way. Some throw themselves into their work, others find a hobby, some speak to a shrink, and some blog about it all. . .but we all suffer from it. The madness of knowing what is, and what never could be. The madness that comes with being able to dream of a better world, yet being forever bound by the chains of reality to live in this one.

Imagination curses us, by allowing us to imagine things that can never be. A better world, a more interesting world, one full of wonder, and beauty, and excitement. Yet, no matter how much we imagine, how often we live with our head in the clouds, our noses in books, our eyes on the stars, it can never be. It's all make-believe, the stuff of dreams.

And that's the rub, to be able to create worlds upon worlds which will never fully manifest. To be forever on the outside, looking in, wishing, wondering, waiting.

So here we are, the whole of humanity, at the probable pinnacle of our great civilization, cursed to always imagine more, to see beyond reality, yet forced to accept the mundane. Every part of our being, crying out, screaming, "there must be more, there has to be more, this cannot be it!", every atom in our bodies longing for something more, yet always knowing that we are forever cursed to settle for less.

And you are?

I am the girl next door, or the man across the street, your sister, your brother, maybe even you.

I'm part of the throng of humanity, one erratic thump in the pulse of an entire species. And, there are billions out there, just like me. All huddled together on this shinning blue rock we call the Earth. Going about our days, busying ourselves as we wait, always waiting. . .

We are as alone as we are together. Sharing this world with one another, while we hide our true selves away, within the world in our minds. Always together, but never connected. Lonely, yet never alone.

Most people learn to live with the emptiness. They fill it, with work, and school, iphones and televisions, family and friends. They bury it deep and forget it. Dismissing it as unsewn oats, or a chemical imbalance.

But no matter how much we try to shield ourselves from it, it's still there. That voice, that nagging voice, deep at the pit of our souls. Always asking, always wondering, never forgetting. "Are we alone?" it asks, over and over. "Are we alone?"

And we gaze up at the stars, as our ancestors have done since man took his first great leap, out of the trees. Ever since we've planted our feet firmly on the ground, we've longed to fly away from it. To ascend upwards, to explore. And, all these ages later, the heavens are still a mystery to us. Sure we know they're made of cosmic dust, and debris from long dead stars, gases escaping from planets and dark unexplainable matter, but we have yet to begin to understand them.

So who am I? I'm just like you. A wanderer, a traveler, a passenger in the universe. Looking at the stars, and waiting, waiting for the answer to that ever present question. . .