I don't mean to hijack this thread but... I... must stop... the spread of... misinformation...
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Originally Posted by Willravel
2) Go really, really fast. Because time slows as an object comes closer to the speed of light, some scientists (but mostly sci-fi writers) theorize that moving faster than light could propel one backwards in time. This main issues with this are that breaking the speed of light is a touchy subject with physicists. I actually saw a professor of astronomy knifed once over it by a roving band of resident physicists, it's that serious. The only theoretical way for matter to break the speed of light is by manipulating gravity by an obscene amount, which would (referencing #1) require gobs of energy. The most popular instance in fiction of this warping of space via gravity is the warp drive of Star Trek. The energy used in the fictional process is gathered from colliding matter with anti-matter and channeling that energy through a fictional crystal which somehow translates the incredible energy that would theoretically be released from the matter/anti-matter explosion into some form of energy that can be used. That translated energy is sent to the "warp coils" (another totally fictional tech) which somehow generate an incredibly powerful and easily controlled warp bubble. That bubble bends space, making space move faster than light. In order to make this work in a science fiction, you would need to use creative license with the tech that could generate that effect.
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All physicists trivially agree that going faster than light implies that there exists some frame of reference for which you can be said to be going back in time. The sci-fi part is in the FTL traveling.
Also, I don't think that StarTrek warp drives use "gravity" to warp space, as such. They just do so, arbitrarily (something mass doesn't do via gravity), by some unspecified mechanism...
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3) Quantum theory. Quantum theory is crazy. Even with the recent introduction of M theory, it's still a big mess that we barely understand. One of the most fascinating aspects of quantum theory is the instantaneous transfer of information. This information clearly moves much faster than light, and as such could theoretically, when applied to #2, move outside of time. When we develop a better understanding of this process, we may be able to harness it, but for the time being it's probably far to complex to be used without some artistic license. Also, considering the rate at which this particular area of science is growing, it's possible that your writing's science may become obsolete quickly.
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Quantum theory is crazy but it's just not that crazy.
There is no such thing as "instantaneous transfer of information." Indeed,
simultaneity is relative so one must wonder in what reference frame said information was instantaneously transfered in.
There are quantum interactions that may appear to someone with a naive understanding of physics to transfer information instantaneously. Perhaps this is what you're thinking?
As I said before, anything traveling faster than light, even information, is necessarily traveling back in time relative to some reference frame.
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Originally Posted by shakran
Travelling backward presents a more special problem. You essentially have to travel at a negative velocity, which is not physically possible in our universe/dimension. The only way to do it would be to envelop yourself in a bubble of space/time that is able to flow backwards. Some say that's possible, others say it's not.
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Traveling at a negative velocity is easy. Just go backwards 'cause that's what it means. I'm not exactly sure what you're thinking, here. Again, traveling faster than light allows you to travel back in time.
Having negative mass would allow you to travel faster than light and, hence, back in time. In fact, having negative mass would necessitate you traveling faster than light because it's impossible for negative mass to travel slower than light. Interesting, eh? Maybe this is what you were thinking?