Time warp

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For the song, see Time Warp.

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The terms time warp, space warp and time-space warp are commonly used in science fiction. They sometimes refer to Einstein's theory that time and space form a continuum which bends, folds or warps from the observer's point of view, relative to such factors as movement or gravitation, but are also used in reference to more fantastic notions of discontinuities or other irregularities in spacetime not based on real-world science.

1 Description and theory
2 Tesseract model
3 External links
4 See also

[edit] Description and theory

Specifically, a "time-space warp" frequently refers to a perceived discontinuity in time, either a fictional phenomenon that allows one to travel backward or forward in time, or an area of space that appears to travel through time at a different rate from the rest of the universe – to be "trapped in a time warp" frequently means to exhibit characteristics of an earlier era.

Recently, mathematical developments in superstring theory have shown that disruptions and warps in the shape of Calabi-Yau space dimensions can occur naturally in space, resulting infrequently in theoretically possible random time events. These changes are "non-topographical", meaning during its phase change a pinch or tear in the dimension itself – and subsequently the fabric of spacetime – must occur. This virtually proves the existence of "wormholes", an idea speculated by scientists and commonly seen in science fiction. Following this discovery, physicists have begun speculating that these pinches may warp time as well. The reason warps in spacetime have not yet been observed experimentally is probably due to the quantum "omnipresence" of string particles "cover up" the pinches and create a smearing of the effects of wrinkles in spacetime.

[edit] Tesseract model

The concept of a tesseract, or four dimensional cube, is often used as an illustration of time travel, and might also give a clue to how a warp in time might occur. As the tesseract constantly moves, collapses in on itself and then expands again in a never ending loop, so does time move forward in a never ending line. If, however, an object or person was able to move from one line of this tesseract to another at any junction point, they would in essence be moving not with time, but in a straight line perpendicular to it. This movement has led many science fiction authors to juxtapose the thought not of time travel, but of being able to stop time and then start it again.