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Sci-fi makes it look so easy. Receive a distress call from Alpha Centauri? No problem: punch the warp drive and you're there in minutes. Facing a catastrophe that can't be averted? Just pop back in the timestream and stop it before it starts. But for those of us not lucky enough to live in a science-fictional universe, are these ideas merely flights of fancy--or could it really be possible to travel through time or take shortcuts between stars? Cutting-edge physics may not be able to answer those questions yet, but it does offer up some tantalizing possibilities. In Time Travel and Warp Drives, Allen Everett and Thomas A. Roman take readers on a clear, concise tour of our current understanding of the nature of time and space--and whether or not we might be able to bend them to our will. Using no math beyond high school algebra, the authors lay out an approachable explanation of Einstein's special relativity, then move through the fundamental differences between traveling forward and backward in time and the surprising theoretical connection between going back in time and traveling faster than the speed of light. They survey a variety of possible time machines and warp drives, including wormholes and warp bubbles, and, in a dizzyingly creative chapter, imagine the paradoxes that could plague a world where time travel was possible--killing your own grandfather is only one of them! Written with a light touch and an irrepressible love of the fun of sci-fi scenarios--but firmly rooted in the most up-to-date science, Time Travel and Warp Drives will be a delightful discovery for any science buff or armchair chrononaut.

Time travel. --- Space and time. --- Time travel --- Space and time

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This concise book introduces nonphysicists to the core philosophical issues surrounding the nature and structure of space and time, and is also an ideal resource for physicists interested in the conceptual foundations of space-time theory. Tim Maudlin's broad historical overview examines Aristotelian and Newtonian accounts of space and time, and traces how Galileo's conceptions of relativity and space-time led to Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Maudlin explains special relativity with enough detail to solve concrete physical problems while presenting general relativity in more qualitative terms. Additional topics include the Twins Paradox, the physical aspects of the Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction, the constancy of the speed of light, time travel, the direction of time, and more. Introduces nonphysicists to the philosophical foundations of space-time theory Provides a broad historical overview, from Aristotle to Einstein Explains special relativity geometrically, emphasizing the intrinsic structure of space-time Covers the Twins Paradox, Galilean relativity, time travel, and more Requires only basic algebra and no formal knowledge of physics

Space and time. --- Absolute rotation. --- Absolute time and space. --- Acceleration. --- Accelerometer. --- Affine transformation. --- Atomic clock. --- Axiom. --- Bucket argument. --- Calculation. --- Caloric theory. --- Cartesian coordinate system. --- Cauchy surface. --- Circular motion. --- Classical electromagnetism. --- Classical mechanics. --- Clock hypothesis. --- Clock. --- Closed timelike curve. --- Coordinate system. --- Curvature. --- Diagram (category theory). --- Diagram. --- Diffeomorphism. --- Dimension. --- Earth's rotation. --- Earth. --- Einstein field equations. --- Electromagnetic field. --- Electromagnetism. --- Equivalence principle. --- Euclidean geometry. --- Euclidean space. --- Event horizon. --- Explanation. --- Fictitious force. --- Galileo's ship. --- General relativity. --- Geometry. --- Gravitational lens. --- Gravitational wave. --- Gravity. --- Hole argument. --- Homogeneous space. --- Identity of indiscernibles. --- Indeterminism. --- Inertial frame of reference. --- Instant. --- Irreversible process. --- Isotropy. --- Light cone. --- Linear equation. --- Lorentz transformation. --- Mass. --- Mathematics. --- Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. --- Minkowski space. --- Modern physics. --- Net force. --- Newton's law of universal gravitation. --- Newton's laws of motion. --- Non-Euclidean geometry. --- Particle accelerator. --- Philosophy of physics. --- Physical body. --- Physical law. --- Physicist. --- Prediction. --- Princeton University Press. --- Pythagorean theorem. --- Quantity. --- Ray (optics). --- Real number. --- Relative velocity. --- Relativism. --- Relativity of simultaneity. --- Requirement. --- Result. --- Ricci curvature. --- Right angle. --- Right triangle. --- Rigid body. --- Second law of thermodynamics. --- Simultaneity. --- Spacetime. --- Special relativity. --- Stress–energy tensor. --- The Nature of Space and Time. --- Theoretical physics. --- Theory of relativity. --- Theory. --- Thermodynamic equilibrium. --- Thermodynamics. --- Tidal force. --- Time dilation. --- Time travel. --- Translational symmetry. --- Two-dimensional space. --- Universe. --- Vacuum solution (general relativity). --- Vacuum.