A. Merlocks's Blog: Time for Fantasy - Posts Tagged "time-machines"

Rotating cylinders and the possibility of global causality violation, what a title! In this paper, written by Frank J. Tipler in 1974, it is suggested that a finite rotating cylinder would also act as a time machine:

Rotating cylinders and the possibility of global causality violation

The idea was explored (literarily) in Larry Niven's short story Rotating Cylinders and the Possibility of Global Causality Violation that appears in

Microcosmic Tales: 100 Wondrous Science Fiction Short-Short Stories or Convergent Series




The original paper spawned a lengthy thread of research. For example:

Causality Violation in Asymptotically Flat Space-Times (1976)

Singularities and causality violation (1977)

Assumptions of the singularity theorems and the rejuvenation of universes (1978)

Some properties of time-machines (1978)

The rigidly rotating relativistic dust cylinder (1980)

A stationary cylindrically symmetric electrovac space-time (1982)

Rotating hollow cylinders: General solution and Machian effects (1983)

The breakdown of quantum mechanics in the presence of time machinest (1993)

Quantum propagator for a nonrelativistic particle in the vicinity of a time machine (1994)

Improved time-machine model (1996)

Time machine (1988--2001) (2003)

Can a Circulating Light Beam Produce a Time Machine (2005)

A Class of Time-Machine Solutions with a Compact Vacuum Core (2005)

Closed Timelike Curves and Time Travel: Dispelling the Myth (2005)

Time Machine at the LHC (2008)

Billiard ball in the space with a time machine (2010)

As you can see, plenty of peer-reviewed papers exist on time travel. The vast majority of them conclude that backwards time travel is impossible but they leave the forward door open. In other words, if travel through time is possible, the main problem is that you cannot buy a return ticket and tell everybody about you success. That may explain a few things!

The concept of a time machine is so alluring that it is frequently used out of context due to its momentary appeal. This post is a non-exhaustive compilation of non-fiction works that include references to time machines even if the central topic of the research study has little to do with time travel or time-machine devices. Most readers will find some of the titles funny, shocking, and/or intriguing. In fact, the contents of some of the works cited here are certainly odd. Let's start:

Reconfiguring Older Bodies in the Prison Time Machine (Criminology and Gerontology)

A Time Machine: New Evidence of Post-Materialist Value Change (Politics)

The evolutionary time machine: using dormant propagules to forecast how populations can adapt to changing environments (Biology)

Teaching in a Time Machine: The "Make-Do" Mentality in Small-Town Schools (Education)

Time-machine computing: a time-centric approach for the information environment (Computing)

Building a time machine for efficient recording and retrieval of high-volume network traffic (Computing)

The virtual time machine (Computing)

A time machine for text search (Computing)

Mr. Madison Meets a Time Machine: the political science of federal sentencing reform (Politics)

Surviving in the time machine suicidal prisoners and the pains of prison time (Criminology)

Leadership and the Art of Mentoring: Tool Kit for the Time Machine (Leadership)

The itty-bitty time machine: genetics of the cyanobacterial circadian clock (Biology)

The Forest Time Machine—a multi-purpose forest management decision-support system (Agriculture)

Arabian time machine (Politics)


Changing Past Behavior Without Means of a Time Machine: Effects on Future Behavioral Decisions (Cognitive Science)

The time machine: federated searching today and tomorrow (Computing)

It is clear that controversial titles grab more attention but also word-driven titles can grab the attention of prospective readers. If you are a non-fiction author, words like Time Travel, Time Machine can be used to your advantage. Enjoy!