Dr. Ron Mallett is a celebrated theoretical physicist at the University of Connecticut, but he was once a little boy clutching onto a copy of H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine.” Since reading the book years ago, Mallett has been fascinated with the idea of time travel, especially after the death of his father at the age of 10.
But this wasn’t just a short-term fascination. He eventually went on to study physics in college, with a special focus on black holes. In doing so, he hoped to eventually get a better understanding of time travel in general, and used “black holes” merely as a cover-up for his true interest.
According to Mallett, they were considered “crazy, but at least it was a legitimate crazy.”
Time travel, on the other hand, was considered “crazy, crazy.”
Regardless, Mallett continued to absorb as much as he could about the topic, eventually coming across Albert Einstein’s theory that time was a fourth a dimension, and that it and space were connected. For physicists, this phenomenon is known as space-time; it is believed to twist and curl around black holes. Mallett wondered if he could recreate the same conditions on Earth.
In order to do so, Dr. Mallett took months to formulate a theory and then test it. He realized from Einstein’s conclusions that time was affected by factors such as time and speed; he was also aware that light could produce gravity. Thus, he decided to use ring lasers, which produces a circulating light that could affect gravity in the same way that a revolving black hole would.
If successful, a formation – consisting of a sequence of neutrons – could potentially be sent in the past in a binary formula: neutrons facing in either an up or down orientation would signify either 1’s or 0’s, respectively.
But that was only the beginning. According to The Epoch Times, he then had to test his theory using mathematical equations. It took over six months just to prove that circulating light could actually twist space. It would take other several years for him to be able to show that twisting space also twisted time.
This means that in the future, time travel is indeed possible. However, Mallett is a theoretical physicist – not an experimental one. While he has concrete mathematical proof that time travel can work, it is up to others to find the right tools and equipment to do so.
For now, Dr. Mallett can only imagine the possibilities. If a time machine were to be constructed in the future, he believes a message from the future would instantly show up – but it would only be capable of sending data between the time from when the machine was first turned on until it is turned off.
For example, if a time machine stays on for 200 years, messages can be sent to any time within those two centuries. Regardless, even if such machines were to exist in the future, Dr. Mallet believes that their use would be strictly prohibited. He predicts their proper usage will be limited to warning individuals about natural disasters, such as tornados.
For more information, check out Dr. Mallett’s book Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality.
