Physics
The Physics of Science Fiction
You cannot create new science unless you realize where the old science leaves off and new science begins, and science fiction forces us to confront this. ~ Michio Kaku
Science fiction is often nothing more than stories spun for the sole purpose of entertainment. But for many (including me), it is their first introduction to the realm of science. In the past few decades, science fiction has even evolved to include concepts that have a real basis in science. So we look into some concepts that may be part of science fiction now but could very well be our future!
Force Fields
Force Fields are often depicted as thin, glowing barriers or shields capable of deflecting torpedoes and phaser blasts. If force fields did exist outside the fictional world, however, they would change the way we build things. Roads and highways could be constructed overnight and armies with impenetrable shields would become unstoppable. But how close are we to developing force fields?
None of the 4 forces of nature (Gravity, Electromagnetism, Strong and Weak Nuclear forces) can account for the complex behavior of force fields. Unless we discover a new fifth force of nature, force fields will have to be man-made. A combination of Plasma (superheated gases that can be molded by magnetic fields) and Carbon Nanotubes (made of a single layer of carbon that is extremely strong and has high tensile strength) can in theory be used to generate the force fields depicted in science fiction.
Faster than light travel
Space ships often have special engines or ‘drives’ to allow faster than light travel. However, general relativity states that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. This makes interstellar exploration very difficult. Even traveling at the speed of light from one end of our galaxy to the other, would take about 100,000 years!
Theoretically, a warp bubble could move faster than the speed of light without violating any laws of physics by curving spacetime into a bubble using negative energy. The biggest problem with this? We would need to use up the mass of the sun to create negative energy which isn’t realistic. A few recent papers have suggested new ideas to avoid the usage of negative energy entirely, so there is still hope.
Time Travel
Another staple of science fiction is the concept of time travel (a personal favorite of mine). Even though we don’t have time machines, traveling to the future is theoretically possible under special relativity. For example, if an astronaut were to travel near the speed of light to a nearby star and we assume the journey took a year. From the perspective of someone on Earth, however, four years would have passed. This would indirectly mean that the astronaut traveled 4 years into the ‘future’.
Einstein’s equations allow for ‘closed-time curves’ which suggests that you could witness an event and then travel through space and time to encounter the same moment again, essentially traveling to the past before you left! Apart from the many theoretical and practical constraints on time travel, logical paradoxes are another issue to consider. One such paradox, known as the Grandfather Paradox asks, ‘What will happen if you travel back in time before you were born and kill your grandfather?’. Would you cease to exist? Would the universe split into two different versions- one where you exist and one where you don’t? These are just some of the many questions and consequences scientists have to consider when thinking about time travel.
The Multiverse
The endless possibilities of a multiverse have made it the perfect playground for science fiction writers in recent years. Theoretically, the multiverse can be thought of in two different ways. The first is the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics which states that ‘worlds’ or universes exist in parallel at the same time and in the same space. The second multiverse theory suggests that our universe is one of many that exists in different parts of space. These theories are difficult to test because one would mean the other universes are in a plane of existence parallel to ours while the other would be beyond the boundaries of our known and observable universe.
So how would we ever prove something like this? Physicists have suggested studying the CMBR to search for traces of ‘bubble universes’ which could contain tangible proof of the existence of a multiverse.
While it may seem like there isn’t much hope of ever seeing a force field or traveling back in time, research on these topics is ongoing. Even things like the internet, rockets, black holes, artificial intelligence, visiting other planets, etc were all once part of science fiction but are now science facts. It may turn out that traveling faster than light is impossible or that the multiverse doesn’t exist, but the process of investigating these ideas can help us better understand the laws of physics that govern our universe and existence.
You can read my entire article that goes into detail about the theories of The Multiverse.
If you enjoyed this article consider clapping and following me for more so you can get more stories like this straight in your inbox!
REFERENCES
1. Kaku, M. (2014). Physics of the impossible. Doubleday.
2. Alderson, E. (2022). Creating Force Fields. Medium. Retrieved 27 January 2022, from https://medium.com/predict/creating-force-fields-a207f49b8421.
3. Alpert, M. (2022). Warp Drive Research Key to Interstellar Travel. Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 27 January 2022, from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/warp-drive-research-key-to-interstellar-travel/.
4. Tobar, G., & Costa, F. (2020). Reversible dynamics with closed time-like curves and freedom of choice. Classical And Quantum Gravity, 37(20), 205011. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6382/aba4bc
5. Gribbin, J. (2022). What Is the Many-Worlds Theory of Quantum Mechanics? — The Wire Science. The Wire Science. Retrieved 27 January 2022, from https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/quantum-mechanics-interpretation-many-worlds-theory/.
