Even if you get your hands on a suped-up DeLorean and a Flux capacitor, you can’t travel back in time.
That’s what Hong Kong physicists say they’ve determined, thanks to a study of the speed limits of photons.
According to researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Albert Einstein’s theory that nothing can move faster than the speed of light holds up for even a single photon — the most basic unit of light. The study was led scientist Du Shengwang, who sought to measure the ultimate speed limit of a photon, which some believed could travel at faster-than-light speeds.
“Einstein claimed that the speed of light was the traffic law of the universe or in simple language, nothing can travel faster than light,” stated the university on its website. “Professor Du’s study demonstrates that a single photon, the fundamental quanta of light, also obeys the traffic law of the universe just like classical EM (electromagnetic) waves.”
“The study, which showed that single photons also obey the speed limit c, confirms Einstein’s causality; that is, an effect cannot occur before its cause,” reported the university.
Published in American scientific journal Physical Review Letters, the study was intended to end debate on the possibility of time travel, but let’s face it: we’re going to need to time travel if we’re ever going to defeat Skynet. Don’t stop believing, scientists!
