Time Machines
Worm Holes | Cosmic Strings | Tipler Cylinders | Warp Drive | Paradoxes | Time Machines

As a variation on the rotating cylinder, some scientists have suggested using "cosmic strings" to construct a time machine. At the moment, these are purely theoretical objects that might possibly be left over from the creation of the universe in the Big Bang. A black hole contains a one-dimensional singularity – an infinitely small point in the space-time continuum.

A cosmic string, if such a thing existed, would be a two-dimensional singularity – an infinitely thin line that has even stranger effects on the fabric of space and time. Although no one has actually found a cosmic string, astronomers have suggested that they may explain strange effects seen in distant galaxies.

By maneuvering two cosmic strings close together – or possibly just one string plus a black hole – it is theoretically possible to create a whole array of "closed timelike curves." Your best bet is to fire two infinitely long cosmic strings past each other at very high speeds, then fly your ship around them in a carefully calculated figure eight. In theory, you would be able to emerge anywhere, anytime!

Time Machines
Worm Holes | Cosmic Strings | Tipler Cylinders | Warp Drive | Paradoxes | Time Machines