After introducing the Incompleteness Theorem (Die Vollständigkeit der Axiome des logischen Funktionenkalküls), Gödel turned his attention to Einstein’s theory of relativity (Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper). He found new cosmological solutions to Einstein’s equations, showing time to behave in unexpected ways. These solutions, known as Gödel universes, describe a warped spacetime where it is possible for a spacecraft, traveling at a specific speed with sufficient fuel, to navigate to the past, present, or future.
If in closed time-like curves (Gödel-Metrik) one would be caught up in the rotation of the universe (including space and time), and could perhaps follow a path through the rotation arriving in the past … granted it’s purportedly a path on the order of n * 10¹² light years. Essentially the rotation of the universal immensity would bend potential paths forward into the past.
Gödel demonstrated time travel was theoretically possible, and not just a philosophical idea. His findings suggest if time travel were achievable, the concept of time as something passing would be invalid. Einstein acknowledged Gödel’s contribution but recognized the disturbing implication: if Gödel’s results were correct, time itself might be an illusion. This deeply unsettled Einstein, despite his praise for Gödel’s work.
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