August 1, 2007 | 3:25 pm

Time travel is possible, Technion prof says

Posted by Adam Wills

Follow me on

Technion physics professor Amos Ori has a paper in the July issue of Physical Review that not only says time travel is possible, but also simplifies the physical requirements. Ori first proposed a more realistic model of time travel in a letter to the journal in 2005.

Einstein’s General Relativity theory is the basis for theories about time travel, and time travel research is based on the idea of bending space-time so far that the time lines actually bend back on themselves to form a loop.

In 2004, Ori outlined a set of conditions that would allow for the creation of a time loop without the need for exotic matter—matter predicted by quantum field theory to exist, though only in quantities too small for the construction of a time machine. That theory called for the time loop to form as a donut-shaped vacuum, inside which time would curve back on itself, so that a person traveling around the loop might be able to go further back in time with each lap.

Ori says serious questions remain about the overall stability of a time machine, the evolution of which would be dependent on a very narrow range of initial conditions that might be difficult—or even impossible—to achieve. He is working to show ways such a configuration could be achieved.

The time machine would be spacetime itself, and we would simply navigate inside this donut-like loop similar to the way a TARDIS navigates within the time vortex in “Doctor Who.”

But you can forget about going back in time to visit Moses, Ori says.

“If we were to create an area with a warp like this in space that would enable time lines to close on themselves, it might enable future generations to return to visit our time,” Ori said. “We, however, could not return to previous ages because our predecessors did not create this infrastructure for us.”

In other words, if we started building the time-travel infrastructure now, we could expect to get a visit from the future. Let’s just hope it isn’t the Terminator future.

July 18, 2007 | 12:03 am

Sell ‘Potter’ on Shabbat, get fined!

Posted by Adam Wills

This Saturday’s worldwide launch of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and supposedly final book in J.K. Rowling’s popular children’s series, will take place at 2:01 a.m. in Israel. Since it’s happening on Shabbat, Orthodox Israeli lawmakers are having apoplectic fits about bookstores staying open on the day of rest to take part in the Potter-mania. In fact, Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai is threatening to fine stores that sell the book before Shabbat ends.

“Israeli law forbids businesses to force their employees to work on the Sabbath, and that applies in this case as well. The minister will fine and prosecute any businesses which violate the law,” Shas Party spokesman Roei Lachmanovich said.

Steimatzky, Israel’s largest bookstore chain, says it’s bound by an agreement with the publisher to launch the book at the same time as the rest of the world.

The book being sold in Israel will be written in English, while a Hebrew translation is expected at the end of the year.

1 Comments — Leave your comment

June 6, 2007 | 2:47 pm

Tatooine tech comes to Israel

Posted by Adam Wills

Two Technion students have figured out how to make moisture vaporators. Moisture vaporators, people! Can genetically engineered banthas be far behind?

The WatAir,

developed by Joseph Cory (Geotectura) and Eyal Malka (Malka Architects), is an inverted pyramid array of panels that collects dew from the air and turns it into fresh water in almost any climate. The project took first place in the Arup

Drawing Water Challenge, beating out 100 entries from North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Inspired by the dew-collecting properties of leaves, one 315 sq ft WatAir unit can extract at least 48 liters of fresh water from the air each day. Depending on the number of collectors used, an unlimited daily supply of water could be produced even in remote and polluted places.

More images available here.

0 Comments — Leave your comment

May 17, 2007 | 12:28 pm

Geordi LaForge, eat your heart out

Posted by Adam Wills

The computer science department of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has created a virtual-reality device that helps MS and Parkinson’s patients improve their ability to walk using visual and auditory feedback.
Researchers found that the patients displayed an improvement of nearly 13 percent while wearing the device, which includes a cell phone-sized audio component with a visual feedback apparatus (think Cyclops from X-Men).
The visual component presents users with a virtual, tile-floor image displayed on one eye. This allows the user to distinguish between the virtual floor and real obstacles, making it possible to navigate even rough terrain or stairs.
The integrated device—the first to respond to the patient’s motions rather than just providing fixed visual or auditory cues—is already in use at a number of medical centers in Israel and the United States.

0 Comments — Leave your comment