Time travel closer than ever? Physicists say Interstellar helped crack the code
Black hole trick may actually be real (photo: Magnific)
The cult science fiction film by Christopher Nolan, Interstellar, realistically depicted a black hole; however, one plot twist still raised skepticism among scientists. It refers to the scene where the main character sends a message to his daughter in the past using gravity. A new study by quantum physicists suggests that such a trick could be entirely real thanks to the time dilation effect, according to a study published in Physical Review Letters.
How to bypass time paradoxes using quantum physics?
In their work, a group of researchers relied on the concept of closed timelike curves (CTCs). This is a theoretical trajectory in which an object, while moving through spacetime, returns to its own past, closing the loop and making time travel possible.
The phenomenon fully fits within Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which describes gravity not as a force of attraction but as a physical curvature of spacetime itself caused by massive objects.
To prove the possibility of transmitting signals without encountering the well-known grandfather paradox (where a time traveler accidentally prevents their own existence), scientists used an improved model — post-selected closed timelike curves (P-CTCs).
Main points and conclusions of the new study
- Protection against alternative timelines — the P-CTC theory states that the universe automatically filters out and blocks any time loops that could create logical paradoxes;
- Overcoming noise — in the film, Cooper sends a message through a highly unstable and noisy gravitational mechanism, but thanks to the daughter’s clear memories, the information is transmitted without distortion. This fully corresponds to the new mathematical model.
- Manipulating gravity — direct influence on the gravitational field allows one to literally stitch time dimensions together, delivering information packets to past coordinates.
At present, this discovery remains purely theoretical and mathematically grounded. However, the team of physicists does not plan to stop at theoretical calculations and has already officially announced plans to create a real laboratory model.
Scientists aim to experimentally test information transfer through time at the quantum level using elementary particles of light — photons.
