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Superluminal Time Travel + Time Warp Challenge Answer

PBS Space Time · explainer · Watch on YouTube

What it is

A PBS Space Time episode explaining why faster-than-light travel is equivalent to travelling back in time, using relativity and Minkowski diagrams for different observers.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN points to it in warp drive discussions as a math-free explanation of why superluminal travel causes causality problems.

  • 2 people recommended it
  • 2 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2018, last 2022

What HN commenters said

  1. “Here's a good (IMHO) video showing how this works out, by looking Minkowski diagrams for different observers.”

    Explains the idea using Minkowski diagrams for different observers.

    magicalhippo, 2018-08 · Recommendation · in “Alcubierre drive”

  2. “One video with no maths required.”

    Math-free explanation of the problem with superluminal travel.

    xupybd, 2022-07 · Recommendation · in “Breaking the warp barrier: solitons in Einstein–Maxwell-plasma theory (2021)”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: special relativity, time travel, warp drive, minkowski diagrams, physics

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