Slashdot Mirror


The Science and Physics of Back To the Future

overthinkingit writes "A scientist has tried to apply serious math and physics, including the Law of Cosines, to analyze how the DeLorean in Back to the Future travels through both Time AND Space: 'in order to pull off the kind of time travel we see in the Back To The Future trilogy — the kind where the traveler is transposed in time, but remains stationary in the same relative position to where he/she left — the DeLorean would have to be an outstanding space ship, in addition to its already laudable work as a time-ship. According to Doc Brown's stopwatch, Einstein the dog travels precisely one minute into the future on this first jump, arriving, relative to their frame of reference, at the same location he left. But how far has this reference frame itself traveled during that one minute?'"

11 of 436 comments (clear)

  1. Re:1.21 Jigawatts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Sorry, but that was BTTF1, and there was no Mr. Fusion in BTTF1 until the last scene when Doc comes back from the Future. They had to use the lightning bolt from the tower because Mr. Fusion wasn't yet installed, and Marty had run out of Plutonium rods.

    BTTF3 was the Wild West, and there were no issues with Mr. Fusion then--then it was a problem with no gasoline in existence, and their inability to travel to 88mph.

  2. Re:Teleportation and aging issues. by EllisDees · · Score: 2, Informative

    Fail!

    It isn't the trip that causes the slowed aging, it's the acceleration. When you get back, all your classmates are going to be dead, and you'll still be 25.

    --
    -- Give me ambiguity or give me something else!
  3. Re:DeLorian problems by confused+one · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually, you can still buy them, new. DeLorian may have gone out of business but another guy bought all the parts and manufacturing equipment. He repairs existing ones and will build you a brand new one if you have enough money.

  4. link by confused+one · · Score: 3, Informative

    here's the link I forgot...

    http://www.delorean.com/

  5. Re:stasis field food storage by Bogtha · · Score: 4, Informative

    I spent 60 seconds on Google and found the draft. Next time don't be so lazy.

    --
    Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
  6. Did the author not watch the movie? by actionbastard · · Score: 3, Informative

    Professor Brown explained that Einstein simply 'skipped' over that minute and arrived in the same place at a different time. The DeLorean -and hence Einstein- still had their combined velocities of the reference plane (place) that it had when it did the 'timeskip'; that's why it was still going eighty-eight MPH when it reappeared one minute later. If the combined velocities of the 'time traveler' or the 'place' do not change during his trip, then he simply arrives in the same 'place' just at a different time. However, if the 'place' from which he leaves encounters a sudden change of velocity at the exact moment of departure, then he could return in a very different 'place' upon arrival.

    --
    Sig this!
  7. Re:Does it explain by KJSwartz · · Score: 3, Informative

    It was a well-known observation that Dr. Brown sent Einstein back one minute in time to Calibrate the DeLorian's Space-Time compensator. Since the terrorists showed up before the calibration could be validated, Dr. Brown's compensator was calibrated 2-3 picometers into the substrate.

    Notice in Revision 2 (the Locomotive), there were no contrail.

  8. Re:Doesn't need to be a spaceship by Bozzio · · Score: 2, Informative

    Man, you're a real dick.

    Your original post was unclear and you never bothered to clarify. All you've done is bitch until somebody else provided an explanation to YOUR post.

    You're a real weiner, sir. Here are some tips for next time:

    1. Avoid run-on sentences.
    2. User PROPER punctuation.
    3. ???
    4. Don't be a dick!!!
    --
    I just pooped your party.
  9. Seven Days by Deathlok's+Bear · · Score: 2, Informative

    While it isn't BTTF, exactly, the tv show Seven Days had a similar time traveling premise, however the portion of the machine that traveled back in time wasn't the time machine itself, but rather a pod that had to be guided back to the earth. The intro of the show even shows a lost pod floating out in space with a (dead?) pilot. One of the few, if only, shows I've ever seen that addressed the time/space issue.

  10. Re:Doesn't need to be a spaceship by DramaGeek · · Score: 2, Informative
    Actually, it looks like you're pretty close:

    From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeLorean_time_machine#Operation

    "As it accelerates, several rails around the body of the car glow blue, a wormhole generator on top of the car makes a wormhole in front of the car."

    As I remember, the car does shoot a couple of sparks or something forward just before the jump.

  11. Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    You actually need to account for a *LOT* more than mear motion and orientation of earth in the 11-dimenstional universal reference frame over time. You also need to account for all distortions of free space caused by changes in the expansion of the universe, gravity wells of all matter with mass within at least 1B light years and magnetic induced distortions to free space. This approach would be much more dangerous than stealing platonium from libyians and is *NOT* how Docs invention operates.

    The flux capacitor attaches itself to all relevent future/past frames before actually moving the delorian forward or backward in time by establishing an instantaneous link with its potential mirror in the past or future frame using super scary action through time. Absoulte current and past/future universal coordinates are worked out **well before any transition actually occurs**.

    To help visualize what is occuring the process is similiar in concept to leaders which guided the lightning strike to the conducting surface of the clock tower before the lightning actually completed its journy.

    Coincidently this is also why the delorian needs to be traveling at 88.8 MPH - so that future/past frame transitions can clearly see the reflection of their own momentum potential to establish proper phase resonance.

    Also helpful is the fact the capacitor is perfectly "Y" shaped to maintain its symmetric profile when estabishing a resonant phase match with its potential mirror. This is essential as the presence of strong active magnetic fields in the vacinity (either present or past/future) can cause the orientation of free space surrounding the flux capacitor to change dynmaically after establishing a potential link. This can be catastrophic as the delorian could be translated upside down, on its side or even into solid earth.