In recent years, time traveling has been not only a scenario in science fictions and Hollywood blockbusters, but also a scientific possibility due to the rapid developments of quantum theory. Tidbits on the possibility of achieving time traveling has sprouted up in news in the past couple of weeks.

The soon to be available Large Hadron Collider (LHC, pictured above) of CERN utilizes several superconducting magnets (kept at just 1.9 K) to guide charged particles to a desired projectile. Scheduled to be in operation by May of this year, it is the largest and highest energy particle accelerator in the world.[1] Using the LHC, a special run is scheduled for April 2008 in attempt to recreate the Big Bang.

By colliding charged particles at high velocity, researchers hope to reproduce the first billionth second after the Big Bang. By successfully doing so, this exercise would further validate the theory–some claim as the origin of life–since the Nobel win of Professor George Smoot in 2007.

However, the public hype of the launch of LHC isn’t all for the recreation of the mysterious Big Bang. Much of its attention is the possibility of creating a time machine as a side product of this exercise. As mathematicians Irina Aref’eva and Igor Volovich of Moscow’s Steklov Mathematical Institute pointed out, Einstein’s theory of general relativity suggests that particle collisions at such high energy level would distort the space-time fabric surrounding it. This distortion can create a wormhole, or “time tunnel,” allowing time traveling.[2] A related interview with Irina Aref’eva is available on YouTube.

Such claim sounds little more than a scene out of some scifi movie; and many in the scientific community agrees. Most remains skeptical of the production and application of the man-made wormhole. Surely, arguments like the lack of “time travelers” from the future still echo every time machine idea is brought up. Since what will happen inside the particle accelerator is still largely unknown, its secondary consequences also remain unpredictable.

Noel

[1] Large Hadron Collider, Wikipedia

[2] The world’s first time machine? Tunnel to the past could open door to future within three months, say Russians

Earlier this month, the American Physics Society updated their Online Archive to include all the Physical Review articles as far back as 1893. While we celebrate for the time saved from making photocopies of old, dusty volumes in the back room of the library, this new addition is also good news for literature-surfing enthusiasts. Among the sea of findings is a pair of articles, published in 1939 by Hans Bethe of Cornell University that eventually earned him the Nobel Prize of Physics.

In these papers, Bethe proposed two possible fusion reaction mechanisms that enables stellar energy production. They are as follows:

p + p –> ²H

²H + p –> ³He

This helium-3 nucleus further reacts, resulting in helium-4. A second reaction chain was named the C-N-O cycle. This mechanism uses a small amount of carbon, interacting with nitrogen and oxygen intermediates to produce He nuclei from ejected protons as an end product.

While later experiments confirmed the validity of both of his mechanism proposals, he was incorrect in predicting the reaction prevalent in solar energy production. Bethe concluded that C-N-O cycle is the dominant mechanism by the estimated temperature on the sun at that time, which was an over approximation. Both of Bethe’s proposed mechanisms are accepted in the current astrophysics community, with proton-proton fusion as the main source of solar energy.

This pair of articles marked the beginning of many stellar physics discoveries to come. More detail on Bethe’s theory is available in the new APS online archive!

For more information: Landmarks: What Makes the Star Shine?

Noel