This isn't necessarily a time travel question. Instead, I'm wondering about how we can "see into the past" when we see these stars or galaxies where we are now seeing light that is billions and billions of years old. They recently found the earliest galaxy they have found to date, seeing it as it existed 13 billion years ago, which is only 700 million years or so after the big bang. So here's the question. In the future, with way advanced technology, would it then be possible to send a machine way out into the galaxy, at faster than light speed (worm hole, whatever), then turn around and take a view of earth. And then with advanced equipment, "zoom in" on the light given off by Earth and effectively be able to record human history as it was happening. I guess the reality is that by the time we'd have equipment capable of doing this in any way, we will have moved so far beyond really caring all that much to get a good video of human life pre-computers... ... but it was just a thought!
at the micro level you could zoom in and figure out what it was that made my pee burn after that vegas trip.
The explosion that caused the Big Bang left radiation waves that still exist everywhere in the universe, including the room you're in while reading this message. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1loJTy6bOu8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> As of right now, we know of no way to go faster than the speed of light. In fact it's a fundamental law of nature that nothing can go faster than the speed of light. That said, Newtonian Physics formulas on a macroscopic scale and Quantum Physics formulas on a subatomic level are time reversible. That doesn't necessarily mean that the universe would permit time travel to the past. It just means, our current understanding of the physics of the universe is possible on a formulaic level. If you're really interested in the Big Bang, one of my favorite modern cosmologists is Sean Carroll. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WMaTyg8wR4Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> If you want someone that does a great job at explaining quantum physics, I highly recommend the watching Richard Feynman. He doesn't talk about futuristic time travel or any such and such devices of the future like Michio Kaku, but he does explain the way the universe really does work on a very complex scale in an easy to understand way. Feynman came up with the Feynman Diagrams which computers in the Large Hadron Collider use to detect new particles when they conduct experiments. He's one of my favorite physicists that really got me interested in how the universe really works. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/j3mhkYbznBk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> One of Feynman's still living and close friend, Leonard Susskind is a great guy to watch lectures of. He's one of the top professors at the University of Stanford and you can actually watch student lectures of him teaching quantum mechanics for free on youtube. No need to pay tuition for it either. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8mi0PoPvLvs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> He also has lectures on youtube where he explains complex quantum mechanics, black hole physics and m-theory for someone not into learning the math. The internet is amazing if you know what to search for.
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In theory, the way you described it was pretty much spot on. The key, of course, being the technology to travel faster-than-light. The Einstein-Rosen bridge was an early solution in field equations for "wormholes." The Alcubierre drive is a fairly recent idea on how to apply this for faster-than-light travel. It's all plausible, but all far from being confirmed.
I don't think that machine would have a real-time recording of events, it would still be delayed by the time it takes for the light to reach the instrument. right? As far as the zoom is concerned, even that is at a certain distance from the earth, and I think it's just a play with the lenses that allows the zoom to occur, so the light entering the lens is still "old" light that took however long to reach the lens. Correct me if I'm wrong
So, it's not a Dolorean going past 88mph which activates the flux capacitor that is powered by a nuclear reactor that outputs 1.2 jigawatts of power? MY LIFE WAS A LIE.
I think the bigger question is: If we could go back in time and "zoom in" to our past, who will dictate what past we zoom into, what are the privacy laws governing this, and will anyone be able to buy time on the "zoom in" technology to make a personal request. There's a few things I'd like to zoom into. Like, can we finally get a real gif of Lady Godiva riding nude on her horse through Coventry. As they say: Post pics,,,or it didn't happen.
