08-26-2003, 03:47 PM
If anybody here has a good understanding of quantum physics (if that's even possible) and many billions of dollars to spend on a particle accelerator, I propose this experiment:
Construct the accelerator in a "figure 8" as opposed to an ellipse, then attempt to cause a collision (or at least an interaction) between a single particle and itself.
If sufficient speed can cause relative time to reverse--rather than slow to a stop (at light speed) and plateau--then the particle will cross the intersection more than twice each lap. Echoes would appear as the relative time difference between the particle and it's future (more accelerated) self grew, eventually causing the particles to meet at the crossing point. The grandfather paradox can then be examined.
As for going back, simply being there influences things; microgravity, static electricity, etc. The less you do, the longer it takes for the exponential increase in changes to appear, but farther along, there will always be significant alteration.
Construct the accelerator in a "figure 8" as opposed to an ellipse, then attempt to cause a collision (or at least an interaction) between a single particle and itself.
If sufficient speed can cause relative time to reverse--rather than slow to a stop (at light speed) and plateau--then the particle will cross the intersection more than twice each lap. Echoes would appear as the relative time difference between the particle and it's future (more accelerated) self grew, eventually causing the particles to meet at the crossing point. The grandfather paradox can then be examined.
As for going back, simply being there influences things; microgravity, static electricity, etc. The less you do, the longer it takes for the exponential increase in changes to appear, but farther along, there will always be significant alteration.