Time is a social construct. It interweaves itself into the very fabric of humanity as a rigid structure that does not allow for tardiness. It creates and constrains, and at its essence, it controls. When viewed through a scientific lens, time is a fundamental physical dimension. It exists independently, within a fourth dimension invisible to the eye. It is not universal either – it passes at different rates according to speed and gravity.
Is it truly too far-fetched to stretch and warp the limits of time itself, to imagine time that exists beyond the present, and into the past or future?
One such consideration comes from the mathematical equation that describes how things change over time. Here, time is a quantity, often referred to as coordinate time. Coordinates are often thought to have direct and measurable quantities, as in, for every input of x there is an output of y. Special relativity, however, reaches beyond the limitations that direct coordinates constrain us to, and instead posits that these measurements’ results are dependent on the motion of an observer. Essentially, they conclude that absolute space and time are, in fact, products of fiction (1). Special relativity, then, can be harnessed in the understanding of time travel into the future.
Another possibility is one presented by a well-known film, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. In Interstellar, a different type of relativity is explored, namely general relativity, which contemplates the confounding query of how time travel into the past can be feasible. General relativity is a theory proposed by Einstein which interweaves time, gravity and space (2). While special relativity does acknowledge the connectedness of space and time, general relativity is able to tie in the fundamental ‘force’ of gravity as something that is not a force, but in fact a warping of spacetime. Essentially, general relativity propounds that massive objects are able to distort the relationship between space and time, which is a key concept in the film (3). Nevertheless, general relativity has its limitations, in that it fails to incorporate quantum physics and Mach’s principles (4).
Thus, if general relativity still requires further modifications to be irrefutable and robust, then other possibilities must be considered for time travel to come to fruition in the future. One potential mechanism is the existence of wormholes. Wormholes are tunnels within spacetime that connect parts of the universe through a certain type of warping, its theoretical background aligning heavily with general relativity (5).
This then begs the question – can wormholes provide a satisfactory solution for time travel? The answer is slightly more complicated than merely a yes or a no. If one were to consider travel between two distances, a wormhole seems to be the perfect answer, theoretically. Not only do they facilitate time travel between galaxies, but also allow for interterrestrial communication within parallel universes (6). On a more practical note, however, wormholes still have a marginally long way to go before a substantial discovery is made to turn a complex theory into fact.
References
Bertschinger E. Coordinates and proper time. Accessed April 6, 2026. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-224-exploring-black-holes-general-relativity-astrophysics-spring-2003/3982882af388dae3407906357a419cba_coordsproptime.pdf
Buzzo D. Time Travel: Time Dilation. Electronic Visualisation and the Arts. 2014. doi:10.14236/EWIC/EVA2014.21.
Dutfield S, Bartels M, Tillman NT. What is the theory of general relativity? Understanding Einstein’s space-time revolution | Space. Accessed May 13, 2026. https://www.space.com/17661-theory-general-relativity.html
Palomo MU. Einstein’s theoretical failures of General Relativity. Independent physics. December 2, 2023. Accessed May 13, 2026. https://independentphysics.com/einsteins-failures-of-general-relativity-gravitational-potential-energy-and-machs-principle/
Aichelburg PC. Wormholes and time travel. In: Vol 504. AIP. 2000;504(1):1111-1112. doi:10.1063/1.1290914.
Morris MS, Thorne KS, Yurtsever U. Wormholes, time machines, and the weak energy condition. Phys Rev Lett. 1988;61(13):1446-1449. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.1446 .
