Through the years, millions of individuals have been subjected to television shows and movies that present time-travel as a real possibility, ranging from the popular science-fiction series Doctor Who to the Back to the Future films first released in 1985 amongst many others. The frequent presentation of the relatively easy switch between current and future life with a simply designed time travel machine allows audience members to wonder if one day they may be able to attend their wedding while still enrolled in high school. Though time travel may not happen as it is portrayed on the big screens, the method to fast forward time is relatively easy and may not be too far ahead in the future.

Albert Einstein studied the possibility of time travel during 1905 before it became an exciting topic for movies and shows to focus the plot-line on. During his studies, Einstein developed the Special Theory of Relativity and General Theory of Relativity where he acknowledged that the rate of time differs for each person, but the theory becomes more apparent as speed increases and nears the speed of light. This theory can be related to the Twins Paradox theory, which is easily explained in the case that if one identical twin travelled to space at a speed close to the speed of light it may take a few years on board before returning to Earth. Upon the twin’s arrival, the other twin, which remained on Earth for many more years has aged more so than the traveling twin. While there is no sound evidence of a time traveller making the journey to the future, and any time travelers walking around amongst us have not been found yet, Carol Allie proved the theories on a minuscule level, synchronizing two clocks, one of which travelled airborne and left Earth for several hours and the other remaining on the land. When the airborne clock returned, Allie recognized that the time on the clock that remained on Earth moved slightly faster than the airborne clock. Years of more studies and research as well as a planned trip into the future are still required to prove time travel is a possible phenomena, but Einstein’s work and the data gained from scientists brings us closer everyday.

While it may be an exciting thought to imagine a life where one may fast forward or rewind time as they please, there is no current evidence that going back in time may be a possibility.
Watching the egyptians construct the pyramids and witnessing the arrival of the Mayflower would be awesome sights to see, but scientists lack an explanation on how one would travel to the past. Another issue that arises when contemplating traveling back in time is the grandfather paradox. The grandfather paradox is the scenario in which a person were to travel back in time and kill their grandfather before he conceived their parents. The child who traveled back in time would have never been born, therefore never been given the chance to travel back in time to kill the grandfather, but in that case the child could still ha
ve been born and traveled back in time and the circle continues infinitely. A theory similar to the grandfather paradox that also dismisses the idea that reverse time-travel is a possibility is the Temporal Theory, which suggests the possibility that time travelers would be able to kill themselves, therefore never having the opportunity to travel back in time or kill themselves and so on, so forth. While some might counter that argument with the possibility of Multiverse, a universe where each person has an infinite number of themselves with the chance to do an infinite number of things at the same time, that is not very probable. With Albert Einstein’s theory and the work constructed my physicists today, there is a better understanding of how to travel into the future rather than the past, but it is not yet completely off the tables.

As a society, we walk around everyday unaware of what our future holds and making decisions that ultimately alter the turn out of our life. While many of us may only experience time-travel through the big screen, fantasizing about a world where it is possible, and unaware that with a theory constructed by Einstein, it may be possible. If a person was able to approach the speed of light, they would be able to return to Earth having spent less years in the aircraft than the time that passed on the planet. While traveling into the future is a possibility, going back to the past is proving more difficult to find a solution to. Theories suggest reverse time travel to be impossible but there is still not enough evidence or tests done to prove it impossible. Before long, time travelers may be walking amongst us in the streets.