looking back into time. is this a practical way (possible way) to do this. if we had the technology

[tomorows_scientist]

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Is looking back into time impossible ?.. ive been thinking a little and im sure somone has already came up with this idea somwhere along the way. but if we had the technology to go many times the speed of light i meen many many many times the speed of light could we eventually go outwards away from the center of the universe. We would go so far that the light from the big bang or whatever (however) the universe was made was just catching up with us. so that we could see what happend just like it was happening right now ?... and for instance even see how life began on earth for example ???.... but im not sure how that would work maybe at the time we have this technology we could have some super high powered telescope on the space craft.... i dont know im just coming up with ideas here. so do you think this is a practicle way if we had the technology to actually in a way look back in time and solve all of these quistion like how life began and well how everything began....????? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Is looking back into time impossible ?.. ive been thinking a little and im sure somone has already came up with this idea somwhere along the way. but if we had the technology to go many times the speed of light i meen many many many times the speed of light could we eventually go outwards away from the center of the universe. We would go so far that the light from the big bang or whatever (however) the universe was made was just catching up with us. so that we could see what happend just like it was happening right now ?... and for instance even see how life began on earth for example ???.... but im not sure how that would work maybe at the time we have this technology we could have some super high powered telescope on the space craft.... i dont know im just coming up with ideas here. so do you think this is a practicle way if we had the technology to actually in a way look back in time and solve all of these quistion like how life began and well how everything began....????? <br />Posted by tomorows_scientist</DIV><br /><br />Actually, every time you look up at the sky, you arelooking back in time. In fact, if you look at the sun, you see it where it was about 8 minutes ago; when you look at the Andromeda Galaxy, you are looking at the light that left there 2.5 million years ago!</p><p>MW</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[tomorows_scientist]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Actually, every time you look up at the sky, you arelooking back in time. In fact, if you look at the sun, you see it where it was about 8 minutes ago; when you look at the Andromeda Galaxy, you are looking at the light that left there 2.5 million years ago!MW <br />Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV><br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp; yes that is what i was saying but would this ever be a practicle way to find out some of these quistions like for instance how the universe was made and how life maybe even began and so forth. ?..... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;&nbsp; yes that is what i was saying but would this ever be a practicle way to find out some of these quistions like for instance how the universe was made and how life maybe even began and so forth. ?..... <br />Posted by tomorows_scientist</DIV><br /><br />How the Universe was made? No, I think that will always be educated speculation.</p><p>How life began? First, lets see if more than one place has life. If you mean, can we travel back in time to dtermine how life began on earth? Afraid not. That too will wind up being educated speculation.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[PSB]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Actually, every time you look up at the sky, you arelooking back in time. In fact, if you look at the sun, you see it where it was about 8 minutes ago; when you look at the Andromeda Galaxy, you are looking at the light that left there 2.5 million years ago!MW <br />Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV><br /><br />On reading your reply the question - 'where are they now', just sprang to mind.&nbsp; As you say the light from the Andromeda Galaxy has taken 2.5 million years to reach us but are we, therefore, aware of Andromeda's location now, especially as it's heading in our direction?&nbsp; And is all scientific work carried out on events that happened&nbsp;in the past, but that we can only see now? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;&nbsp; yes that is what i was saying but would this ever be a practicle way to find out some of these quistions like for instance how the universe was made and how life maybe even began and so forth. ?..... <br /> Posted by tomorows_scientist</DIV></p><p>We already can detect the earliest possible light that the Universe created in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB).&nbsp; Before this, the Universe was opaque and would be impossible to detect any light beyond this point as it was too dense for light to escape. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </p><p>There's fundamental physical laws that preclude us from travelling faster than the speed of light.&nbsp; It is quite simply impossible.&nbsp; I generally don't like to say that things are impossible, but faster than light travel is one that I have to concede.&nbsp; Time dilation and length contraction are well know and well tested phenomena.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[baulten]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>We already can detect the earliest possible light that the Universe created in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB).&nbsp; Before this, the Universe was opaque and would be impossible to detect any light beyond this point as it was too dense for light to escape. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; There's fundamental physical laws that preclude us from travelling faster than the speed of light.&nbsp; It is quite simply impossible.&nbsp; I generally don't like to say that things are impossible, but faster than light travel is one that I have to concede.&nbsp; Time dilation and length contraction are well know and well tested phenomena.&nbsp; <br /> Posted by derekmcd</DIV></p><p>Well, it's impossible without bending spacetime, which we don't know if that is possible except through gravity, and that's assuming general relativity is correct (I don't doubt it, just saying).&nbsp; So it might not be... 100% impossible </p>

 

[SpeedFreek]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'><font color="#0000ff">Well, it's impossible without bending spacetime, which we don't know if that is possible except through gravity, and that's assuming general relativity is correct (I don't doubt it, just saying).&nbsp; So it might not be... 100% impossible </font><br /> Posted by baulten</DIV></p><p>But if we managed to somehow bend spacetime in order to allow us to travel back in time in order to witness the Big-Bang, wouldn't the bend we made in spacetime have some effect on the Big-Bang itself? Would that bent spacetime leave a signature during inflation that ends up being imprinted onto the CMBR?</p><p>Then again, we need to go back to before the inflationary epoch, before the fluctuating "inflaton field" got temporarily stuck at a high value and inflated our universe and then released all its potential energy when the value dropped and bottomed out.</p><p>A big question within inflationary theory is what caused the repulsive field to get stuck at that high value. Perhaps <strong>we</strong> did it inadvertently, when we bent spacetime in order to have a look at it...</p><p><img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /> </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000">_______________________________________________<br /></font><font size="2"><em>SpeedFreek</em></font> </p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Well, it's impossible without bending spacetime, which we don't know if that is possible except through gravity, and that's assuming general relativity is correct (I don't doubt it, just saying).&nbsp; So it might not be... 100% impossible <br /> Posted by baulten</DIV></p><p>Bending spacetime or wormholes are not technically faster than light travel.&nbsp; While you might get there faster than a beam of light that is travelling outside the wormhole... you and your craft are not going faster than light in your own local time inside the wormhole.&nbsp; Special Relativity still applies and there are no 'workarounds' for it.&nbsp; I'd still say it's 99.999~ percent impossible.&nbsp; (nothing is 100% certain).</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[qso1]

<p>I'd have to say this question is way to speculative to be considered able to answer in a practical way because first off. As of today, looking back in time by any means other than what we have...is impractical, if not impossible. Humanity has been to the moon and has not been back in almost four decades. We have yet to land on another planet independant of earth, such as mars.</p><p>Our best current telescopes have yet to directly image extrasolar planets (Not counting brown dwarf like planets) around star systems just a few light years away and even if such a planet is directly observed, it'll be at least several years before telescopes get powerful enough to make out land masses should an earthlike world with bodies of water be discovered. If there were living creatures on mars, todays best telescopes would not be powerful enough to see them.&nbsp;</p><p>Interstellar travel at a percentage of C is a daunting task and not really expected to be possible much before 200 years or so. Not to mention the idea of having telescopes powerful enough to be able to see living creatures such as dinosaurs on planets millions of light years from your speculative starship.</p><p>Hypothetically speaking of course, it seems one could race off in a superluminal starship and image the beginnings of the Universe. But I'm afraid that the question will always be hypothetical. Nobody can really answer it conclusively.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>