Question about the different types of physicists

[TheJoninator]

Ok, I really want to become a physicist that specializes in time travel. Like trying to make it real and things like that. What branch of physics would that come under? Thanks for answering!

 

[Artus]

Hello:

American Physical Society has Divisions of the main branches of Physics:

http://www.aps.org/membership/units/index.cfm

Divisions:
Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics (DAMOP)
Astrophysics (DAP)
Biological Physics (DBP)
Chemical Physics (DCP)
Computational Physics (DCOMP)
Condensed Matter Physics (DCMP)
Fluid Dynamics (DFD)
Laser Science (DLS)
Materials Physics (DMP)
Nuclear Physics (DNP)
Particles and Fields (DPF)
Physics of Beams (DPB)
Plasma Physics (DPP)
Polymer Physics (DPOLY)

Some of the could be grouped inside others, but these divisions would be right by practical reasons.

 

[TheJoninator]

Thanks, so what would 'time travel' come under?

 

[Pengwuino]

Ok, I really want to become a physicist that specializes in time travel. Like trying to make it real and things like that. What branch of physics would that come under? Thanks for answering!

None. It's not a serious academic subject, just science fiction.

 

[Artus]

Ha ha ha!

My mistake, I did not read well. Pal, as Pengwuino said, you're talking about sci-fi. By understanding Relativity Theory, even at High School level, you could understand why Time Travel is Sci-Fi.

 

[TheJoninator]

Ok, it's just I've been reading this book about time travel by Michio Kaku and it seemed really interesting. By the way, what is Astrophysics about?

 

[Shackleford]

You should probably try Wikipedia or some other site first for very general questions. That way you can ask more in-depth questions on here. In other words, you'd already have a heads up on some some of your questions and know better what to ask.

 

[Delong]

Thanks, so what would 'time travel' come under?

This has got to be one of the funniest posts I have read in a long, long time

 

[Shackleford]

This has got to be one of the funniest posts I have read in a long, long time

Maybe it comes under silly string theory. :P

 

[Borek]

Basically there two types of physicists - theoretical ones and experimental ones. Theoretical ones are those too clumsy to make an experiment, while experimental ones prefer hand waving over math.

 

[TheJoninator]

I just wanted an answer, not people making fun me.

 

[Delong]

oh I'm sorry I just thought your post was really funny. I'm sorry if that made you upset. I don't have a good answer to your question since I don't know a lot about physics myself. I know time travel falls under relativistic physics and general relativity. I think physical cosmology would be the one that deals most with time travel (at least the theory behind it). Right now that is super science fiction if not science fantasy. I personally think time travel is almost logically impossible. But if you're really interested in it don't let me stop you. Physical cosmology and theoretical physics seems to be the way to go.

 

[Dynamos]

Ok, it's just I've been reading this book about time travel by Michio Kaku and it seemed really interesting. By the way, what is Astrophysics about?

What did Michio Kaku say about it? Was it just a thought experiment based on time slowing down as you approach the speed of light (i.e. like the one about a twin who travels off somewhere at the speed of light, returns to find that his sibling and the world has aged 10 years, but he himself hasn't), or was he serious about it? I know Stephen Hawking mused about it in a documentary. Basically he said that it would be theoretically feasible to go forward in time (for you) if you had the technology to travel at the speed of light. You could not travel backward, however (maybe b/c of entropy/unidirectionality of time?).

Anyway, by reading the links given by others, you will probably find something more feasible that also interests you.

Good luck.

 

[TheJoninator]

What did Michio Kaku say about it? Was it just a thought experiment based on time slowing down as you approach the speed of light (i.e. like the one about a twin who travels off somewhere at the speed of light, returns to find that his sibling and the world has aged 10 years, but he himself hasn't), or was he serious about it? I know Stephen Hawking mused about it in a documentary. Basically he said that it would be theoretically feasible to go forward in time (for you) if you had the technology to travel at the speed of light. You could not travel backward, however (maybe b/c of entropy/unidirectionality of time?).

Anyway, by reading the links given by others, you will probably find something more feasible that also interests you.

Good luck.

Michio was actually being serious about it, he was taking about quantum mechanics and things like that. Thanks for the information though.

 

[TheJoninator]

oh I'm sorry I just thought your post was really funny. I'm sorry if that made you upset. I don't have a good answer to your question since I don't know a lot about physics myself. I know time travel falls under relativistic physics and general relativity. I think physical cosmology would be the one that deals most with time travel (at least the theory behind it). Right now that is super science fiction if not science fantasy. I personally think time travel is almost logically impossible. But if you're really interested in it don't let me stop you. Physical cosmology and theoretical physics seems to be the way to go.

Sorry about my language. Your talking about physical cosmology and theoretical physics, so what would is the type of physicist that specializes in that? (If there is one)

 

[Pengwuino]

Michio was actually being serious about it, he was taking about quantum mechanics and things like that. Thanks for the information though.

Take things he says with a grain of salt. If you want to really look into a field, you sound like you might be interested in cosmology and just theoretical physics in general.

 

[f95toli]

None. It's not a serious academic subject, just science fiction.

I have to disagree here. It is true that no one is seriously trying to build a "time machine" or anything like that; but there are certainly theoretical physicists out there who work on the "nature of time" etc. Moreover, people do publish papers in serious journals about what is in effect time travel, but they tend to call it something else (e.g. "closed timelike loops"). Whether or not one could in principle build a time-machine (that can travel back in time) is certainly an interesting question which has wider implications for cosmology and fundamental physics.

That said, it is definately a very "risky" field and I suspect no one would dedicate 100% of their time to it. You would also have to be a well established scientist who understands your field very well before you can even think of trying to work on problems like these.

Btw, the people who work on this are always theoretical physicsts, usually in cosmology.

 

[Pengwuino]

I have to disagree here. It is true that no one is seriously trying to build a "time machine" or anything like that; but there are certainly theoretical physicists out there who work on the "nature of time" etc. Moreover, people do publish papers in serious journals about what is in effect time travel, but they tend to call it something else (e.g. "closed timelike loops"). Whether or not one could in principle build a time-machine (that can travel back in time) is certainly an interesting question which has wider implications for cosmology and fundamental physics.

Yah but to the lay-person, "time travel" is different than what we consider "time travel". Probably the best thing to say is that people are working on things, but none involve you going back and seeing the Gladiatorial Games in 2nd century Rome.

 

[Delong]

I read from the book "From eternity to Here" The author is a theoretical physicist working on cosmology and his book was about the stuff that happened before the big bang. He described the kind of time travel that is allowed by current understanding of physics as something rather different from like time travel movies. Basically all we can do is to go in a never ending loop where the same events repeat one another. It's like going in a circle except with time. That's the basic kind of time travel possible under our current understanding of physics. The stuff in the movies like Back to the Future does not seem to be anywhere near current possibility.

 

[Dynamos]

Here is a YouTube video with Michio Kaku talking a bit about it.



Check out the second comment, by "Neonrabbit". If you think orbital mechanics is challenging now, try doing it through time!

 

[WatermelonPig]

So is Brian Greene also not legit?

 

[chiro]

Ok, I really want to become a physicist that specializes in time travel. Like trying to make it real and things like that. What branch of physics would that come under? Thanks for answering!

Hey TheJoninator and welcome to the forums.

If you want to learn about time travel, you need to first learn physics and math and learn about modern geometry and topology.

Once you've done that kind of stuff read into stuff that Roger Penrose has done with singularity theorems, twistor theory, differential topology in relativity. Chandrasekhar has written a book specifically on black-holes that cover in depth solutions from your standard Schwarzschild to your Kerr/Rindler black holes.

Geometry (especially modern flavours) can get very hairy. Your math has to be at a high level to really see the forest from the trees.

Like others have mentioned, its probably going to be something that you dedicate your time off to and not something that you will get paid to do full-time.

 

[guyguy]

For actual theoretical research in time travel, you should have a look a the work of http://www.phys.uconn.edu/~mallett/main/main.htm". Also, you might enjoy his book.

Again, you should be careful how you think about claims theoretical physics, because while there is sometimes nothing to say its wrong, there may also not be sufficient grounds to confirm that its true. Time travel in particular is sticky, because its not really science fiction--its happening right now. And when you fly in a jet plane, your friends down below experience more time than you do (simple Relativity). So the idea of forward time travel is far from Sci-Fi stuff. It's the more extreme cases that get weird: approaching the speed of light, intense spacetime curvature, etc. I would start with Mallett. However, beware that he is completely full of himself--and his story seems a bit romanticized. Don't let him taint theoretical physics for you though

 

[TheJoninator]

Thank you to the two latest comments, these are the answers I was looking for.