Episode Information

WWL: Time Traveler
Where We Live - with John Dankosky
Aired:
06/25/2009
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In this episode:

One man's mission to make time travel a reality

 

Host:
John Dankosky
Guest(s):
Contributor(s):
Catie Talarski
Libby Conn
Episode Audio

49:00 minutes (23.52 MB)
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Time travel. It’s the stuff movies are made of. But what if it were a reality? UConn Physics Professor Ron Mallett has been asking himself that question since 1955 and he’s dedicated his life to developing a working theory of time travel.

Mallet says that the 20th Century was the century of air and space travel and that this new century will be the era of time travel. Today, Where We Live, we’ll talk with Mallett about his work. We’ll talk black holes, cosmic strings, and Spike Lee, who’s turning Mallett’s reality back into the stuff movies are made of. And, we’ll talk about the role of science in America today. 

We'd love to hear from you! Join the conversation.  Leave questions and comments below.  Plus, watch a History Channel video about Mallett and his work on time travel theory. 

 


 

This program originally aired on May 6, 2009.


 
Related Content:
Links for this Episode:
Ron Mallett's Home Page
This American Life Episode: My Brilliant Plan

Listener email from Timothy

Submitted by lconn on May 6, 2009 - 9:56am.

Mr Ron Mallet,

In Einstein’s thought experiments about the speed of light, he insists that the laws of physics must continue to apply no matter the perspective or reference frame of the observer.

 We have discussed this in the Terminator bulletin boards, and it seems that there are three important reference frames:

  1. The Sending reference frame
  2. The Traveller’s reference frame
  3. The Destination reference frame

Wouldn’t there be a dramatic shift in the Traveller’s reference frame, even in the branching multiverse model?

In a linear, or closed loop model, there could be dramatic changes in the Sending Reference Frame… nuclear explosions being undone… etc.

Listener Email from Barbara

Submitted by lconn on May 6, 2009 - 9:54am.

Your guest is making my ears bleed with these ideas which are sooo over my head. His analogies are terrific.
 
I would like to use time travel to test my theory on global warming. I believe humans and their actions are a parallel to the infections and diseases we get on our bodies afflicting the earth. Aerial views of our planet reveal things such as strip mining, building and development, etc., as scars on the earth. Knowing that humans develop fever to kill infection, i believe the earth's may be trying to cure itself of humans by heating up.

 

Aha!! Now if we are on the

Submitted by Maia (not verified) on June 25, 2009 - 10:03pm.

Aha!! Now if we are on the verge of discovering time travel, AND we are on the verge of overstaying our welcome on this planet, would it not make sense that our future selves would be visiting us... right about now? So... how about those UFO's?