Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The Science of Time Travel | Math! Science! History!
What if time could stretch, bend, or even loop? From ancient myths to Einstein’s equations, humanity has always dreamed of breaking free from the clock.
In this episode, Gabrielle explores the history, physics, and imagination behind time travel, how myths like the Mahabharata and Urashima Tarō foreshadowed Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, and how modern scientists like Dr. Ronald Mallett are working to turn the dream into reality.
🧠 You’ll learn:
• How Einstein’s relativity proved that time moves differently for everyone.
• Why black holes and wormholes might hold the key to future time travel.
• What real-life experiments — from atomic clocks to laser loops — reveal about the physics of time.
🕰️ Whether you love science fiction or real physics, this episode shows that time travel isn’t just fantasy — it’s a window into how the universe truly works.
Resources & Mentions
• Albert Einstein – Relativity: The Special and General Theory
• Kip Thorne – Black Holes and Time Warps
• Ronald L. Mallett – Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality
Timestamps
00:00 — What if time travel could actually work?
01:20 — Ancient myths that bent time: India & Japan
04:50 — H.G. Wells and the birth of the time machine
07:45 — Einstein and the science of time dilation
12:10 — Wormholes, black holes, and curved spacetime
16:25 — Gödel’s rotating universe & Tipler’s cylinder
20:00 — Hawking’s time travel paradoxes
23:40 — Ronald Mallett’s real-life laser loop experiment
🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h
🌍 Let’s Connect!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
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Facebook: facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/math-science-history
Threads: threads.com/@math.science.history
Mastodon: https://mathsciencehistory@mathstodon.xyz
YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
Pinterest: pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory
🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?
☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal
Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform
Check out our merch: mathsciencehistory.com/the-store
Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
Remainder of music and sounds from Pixabay – CC0
Until next time, carpe diem!
The Science of Time Travel | Math! Science! History!
What if time could stretch, bend, or even loop? From ancient myths to Einstein’s equations, humanity has always dreamed of breaking free from the clock.
In this episode, Gabrielle explores the history, physics, and imagination behind time travel, how myths like the Mahabharata and Urashima Tarō foreshadowed Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, and how modern scientists like Dr. Ronald Mallett are working to turn the dream into reality.
🧠 You’ll learn:
• How Einstein’s relativity proved that time moves differently for everyone.
• Why black holes and wormholes might hold the key to future time travel.
• What real-life experiments — from atomic clocks to laser loops — reveal about the physics of time.
🕰️ Whether you love science fiction or real physics, this episode shows that time travel isn’t just fantasy — it’s a window into how the universe truly works.
Resources & Mentions
• Albert Einstein – Relativity: The Special and General Theory
• Kip Thorne – Black Holes and Time Warps
• Ronald L. Mallett – Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality
Timestamps
00:00 — What if time travel could actually work?
01:20 — Ancient myths that bent time: India & Japan
04:50 — H.G. Wells and the birth of the time machine
07:45 — Einstein and the science of time dilation
12:10 — Wormholes, black holes, and curved spacetime
16:25 — Gödel’s rotating universe & Tipler’s cylinder
20:00 — Hawking’s time travel paradoxes
23:40 — Ronald Mallett’s real-life laser loop experiment
🔗 Explore more on our website: mathsciencehistory.com
📚 To buy my book Hypatia: The Sum of Her Life on Amazon, visit https://a.co/d/g3OuP9h
🌍 Let’s Connect!
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mathsciencehistory.bsky.social
Instagram: instagram.com/math.science.history
Facebook: facebook.com/mathsciencehistory
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/math-science-history
Threads: threads.com/@math.science.history
Mastodon: https://mathsciencehistory@mathstodon.xyz
YouTube: Math! Science! History! - YouTube
Pinterest: pinterest.com/mathsciencehistory
🎧 Enjoying the Podcast?
☕ Support the Show: Coffee!! PayPal
Leave a review! It helps more people discover the show!
Share this episode with friends & fellow history buffs!
Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform
Check out our merch: mathsciencehistory.com/the-store
Music: All music is public domain and has no Copyright and no rights reserved.
Selections from The Little Prince by Lloyd Rodgers
Remainder of music and sounds from Pixabay – CC0
Until next time, carpe diem!
