Quote:
Originally Posted by HeartsOfFire
The concept of Time Travel used in Back to the Future revolved around the physical transplantation of an object (the DeLorean, in this case) and the object's occupants. By fuelling the flux capacitor, then bringing the DeLorean to the required speed of 88 miles per hour, it was capable of displacing itself from that exact point in time, and re-emerging in the same space at an entirely different time. A theoretical concept that, while fantastical, fails to take into account that the space from which they depart may in all likelihood be deep space in the space when they arrive. Where you are right this very moment is not where you were last week, or last month, due to the movement of the Earth through space. But that's besides the point.
Assuming this theory of Time Travel by Time Transplantation is true and possible, then it must exist right here, right now. Without time travel, we perceive time as a linear phenemonon that is constantly moving forward at a steady pace. Picture the Timeline, if you can, as a perfectly straight line on a piece of paper. Across this Timeline, you have intersecting ticks that mark points in history. But, if Time Travel by Time Transplantation were possible, the Timeline would be different. While it would maintain its forward, linear momentum, that would no longer have any bearing because if it is possible to jump backward or forward in time, then that constant, straight line can be manipulated. Previously intersecting ticks could be removed, replaced, or even added at the will of the Traveller, based on the events of the Earth happening at that moment in time.
If Time Travel by Time Transplantation were possible, we would have seen evidence of it. The notion that 'it's not possible because it hasn't been discovered yet' is not four-dimensional thinking. You cannot consider time travel as something yet to be invented because by its very nature, it either exists, or it does not. Time travel eliminates the concepts of 'past, present, and future.' If it were possible, we would have seen some evidence of it by now, evidence to show that it will some day be invented. And since no such evidence exists, it is not possible.
One could potentially argue that maybe some day it will be invented, but be under such strict control and guidelines as to prevent manipulation of past events to alter the future timeline, thus making travelling back in time impossible. I would counter that by saying man is an imperfect creature, and it is assured that sometime, somewhere, there will be someone nefarious enough that succeeds in getting past all that said security and successfully transplanting themselves into the past to alter the timeline in some manner.
Make sense?
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OK.. I'll bite. Thing is, no one really knows what the real co-ordinate system of the universe really is. With relativity and all, our co-ordinate system is based on our frame of reference. We haven't seen anything that could be considered a universal space frame of reference (that I've ever heard of), especially considering the universe itself is expanding. That universal frame of reference, if it exists, is in constant flux or change.
Even locally, on a global scale, our frame of reference is really screwed up. Remove the interesting thought about flying through the solar system (although you would also have to account for the solar system flying through the galaxy, and the galaxy flying through the universe), and just look at Earth. Geologically, things have changed a lot, screwing up our frame of reference plenty if we start traveling further along the time scale than just to the 50's. In the Cambrian, Alberta (or rather, the rocks that constituted the rocks we are standing on now, provided you are in Alberta) was south of the equator. I've always been wondering about that, when we say "this place used to be a sea back during the time of the dinosaurs", what "this place" were they talking about? Latitude makes sense, but even with the spinning of the globe, Longitude is a somewhat abstract idea. Is "this place" something that has traveled, and then does it make it still "this place"? The mind continues to unearth complexities regarding that.
But.
If your method of time travel requires you to pass out of the space-time continuum, then re-enter, then it is entirely possible that you can travel through space as well, theoretically being able to go anywhere in addition to anywhen. Provided Doc Brown was able to calculate a passable universal framework, and adjust his location to compensate, then yes, he could travel back through time in a manner that would let him do so without popping into the void of space, or the center of the planet. In fact, the choice of a mode of transportation to achieve time travel would make that space traveling easier to achieve. The calculations need to do so however are astronomical. In fact, it would be more believable if the DeLorean included an Astromech droid.
I know that part was besides your point, but it's something that has been nagging at me for awhile.