Ross A. Finlayson <raf@tiki-lounge.com>
>One possibility to imagine is that for any present that there are a nearly infinite
>number of immediately following events depending on actions taken, here visualized
>as an infinite set of probability chains or threads from a point in time to the next
>for any number of "parallel" spacetimes. So, if the message warns not to break the
>cup, and it isn't, then in one spacetime the cup was broken, and the other it was
>not. This action might actually generate the alternate spacetimes.
Yes, this subject has come up before, this is part of a post I sent to the list a few
years ago:
==================================================================
Actually relativity does not forbid matter moving faster than light, it forbids
matter moving AT the speed of light because that would take infinite energy.
That's almost the same thing but not quite. Perhaps a particle could somehow
tunnel past the speed of light or maybe Tachyons have always moved faster
than light from the first instant of The Big Bang.
People have looked for Tachyons but have never found the slightest evidence
that they exist in nature, much to the relief of physicists. Tachyons are an
embarrassment, the faster they move less energy they have, one that moved
just a little faster than light would have a lot of energy, one that moved at an
infinite velocity would have zero energy. Much worse, Tachyons move backward
in time, they arrive at their destination before they start. You could
communicate with the past.
Even though they have never been detected and the laws of physics do not
demand that Tachyons exist, they don't seem to forbid them either. Most think
nature is totalitarian, if it's not forbidden then it's mandatory.
What about the logical paradoxes that would result from communicating with
the past, wouldn't that be enough to rule out Tachyons? It would if anybody
saw them, but suppose nature rubbed out any witnesses to her crime and
brought a universe to an end that was about to see a paradox.
Damn, I just knocked my coffee cup off the table, what a mess! I'm really not
in the mood to clean it up, instead I'll use my Gateway 14,400 Tachyon modem
and send myself some E mail 2 minutes ago. I'll just hit the send key and
.....brought a universe to an end that was about to see a paradox. Pardon me,
I just got some E mail from John, let's see what it says " Dear John: Be
careful with that coffee cup near your elbow, you're about to knock it over."
Wow, John is right, that cup is dangerously near the edge, I'll put it in a
safe place. It was nice of John to warn me about it, it's too bad that means
oblivion for him and his entire universe but that's life, nature just will
not allow anybody to observe a paradox.
I know what you're thinking, how could John be so stupid, he must be
completely out of his mind, why else would he deliberately buy an obsolete
14,400 Tachyon modem? Well, call me cheap if you want but I still think the
28,800 model is too expensive, besides I have it on very good authority that
Gateway will drop the price next year.
John K Clark jonkc@att.net
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:12:24 MDT