A time machine? In theory it's possible to fast-forward into the future. All you need is a spaceship capable of sustained acceleration. Accelerate at 1 'G' for six months, ( nice and comfy on board, no weighlessness! ) and you'll be approaching the speed of light. Time on board will be slower than time on earth. Now de-accelerate at 1 'G' back to earth, and hey presto! -depending on the conditions of flight you would be sometime in the future. 2000 years? 20,000 years? JHC! - 200 million years? Social problem: All your folks and friends are long dead, you have no assets and you can't come back. Also, Einstein postulated dimensional changes so there's a good chance you would be slightly flat and thus slightly dead.
OK, try another tack. We climb into a freezer and with the help of 'medical science' manage to 'hibernate' for a couple of generations.
Wow, that'd be great, wouldn't it? You come back to a brave new world, with no assets, no family, no usable knowledge and frostbite. Nah, I think I'll stay now and take it one (sidereal) day at a time!
Alan
PS Just had a thought of a systems failure on the return leg. Bloody FPE panels!!! Ship hits Earth at 300,000,000 miles an hour and drills a hole from Hudson Bay to New Zealand!
[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 10-07-2005).]
