Lorenzo Gavassino of Vanderbilt University has come up with a revolutionary solution to the famous Grandfather Paradox, a problem that has been troubling theoretical physicists for years. His findings, published in the prestigious journal Classical and Quantum Gravity, combine quantum mechanics with thermodynamics, opening up a new perspective on the possibility of time travel.
The Grandfather Paradox is a classic logical problem: if a time traveller goes back in time and kills his grandfather before his parents were born, how could he have been born and made the journey? Gavassino proposes an elegant solution, using the concept of entropy, a measure of disorder in a physical system.
According to his theory, during time travel, a parallel line of entropy is created, connecting the beginning and end of the time loop. This means that past events could potentially be reversible. For example, the death of a grandfather could be "undone" and the memory of the event erased from the traveller's mind, eliminating the logical contradiction.
The theory uses "closed time curves" - a phenomenon predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity. Such space-time loops could theoretically form in extreme conditions, such as near black holes, where gravity is so strong that it curves not only space but time itself.
While the discovery doesn’t mean we’ll be able to jump into a time machine tomorrow, it does represent a breakthrough in our understanding of the nature of time and space. Gavassino emphasizes that his research shows the possibility of transcending the conventional limits of physics.
The key element of the theory is the combination of quantum mechanics with general relativity - two fundamental but previously difficult to reconcile physical theories. It is in their mutual interaction that the answer to the question of how particles behave in extreme conditions that allow time travel may lie.
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