We’ve all seen movies and TV shows where the characters have traveled through time or used a time machine. These are usually science fiction movies, but some scientists say time travel is possible in theory. There are also some people who claim to have actually done it.
In 1935, a British Royal Air Force pilot named Victor Goddard was attempting to land his plane in Andover, England. During his attempted landing, a storm broke out, and he almost crashed. He managed to take control of the plane and flew back over a different landing strip, which was abandoned. Except it wasn’t abandoned anymore – it was full of people and planes. The planes were a color and model he had never seen before. The people were also wearing different uniforms than they should have been. He eventually landed at his original destination and didn’t tell anyone of his strange experience. Then in 1939, the Royal Air Force introduced planes of the same model and color he had seen that day. They also started wearing uniforms just like he saw on that landing strip, which was now in operation again. Goddard believes he traveled ahead in time to 1939 and then back to 1935 on that day his plane almost crashed.
Then there is Professor Ronald Mallet, a scientist at the University of Connecticut, who is actually working on a time machine as we speak. Mallet has been attempting to build time machines since he was a child. At the age of 10, his father died, sending him into a deep depression. At the age of 12, he read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, which gave him hope that one day he could travel back in time and see his father again.
In 2002, he presented a breakthrough theory about how time travel could be possible using lasers and mirrors. He presented his theory at Howard University, where it was accepted as the real deal by his peers. He is currently raising money to build his time travel machine. The only problem is even if he is correct and the machine works, he’ll never see his father again. It will only be able to transport a person back to the time the machine was turned on and not a second before. While our descendants may be able to travel back in time to meet us, his theory does not allow for time travel to any time before the day the machine was first built. It is still an amazing theory, though, and his colleagues told him his father would be so proud of him.
Do you think we’ll ever be able to travel through time? And if we could, what kind of effect might that have on the future, past, and present?
Vocabulary
- break out
1. something negative such as war, fire, or disease happening or spreading suddenly
2. to take something out of storage - manage to do something
to succeed in doing something that requires effort or skill - take control
to gain power over someone or something - as we speak
happening now - the real deal
a person or thing that is genuine, authentic or impressive; not false or fake - raise money
1) collect money for someone or something
2) gather donations for a specific purpose
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