Physicist Jim Al-Khalili Questions Billionaires’ Pursuit of Immortality
LONDON:British physicist Jim Al-Khalili has questioned the efforts of some billionaires to achieve immortality, saying that instead of seeking an unlimited lifespan, people should focus on making better use of the limited time they have.
According to British radio reports, Al-Khalili said physics has transformed the common human understanding of time. He explained that, according to Albert Einstein’s theories, time does not pass at exactly the same rate for everyone and can be affected by both speed and gravity.
He said that for a person travelling at extremely high speeds, one second can represent a different duration compared with someone travelling at a much lower speed. Similarly, powerful gravitational fields can also affect the passage of time.
The physicist said travelling to the past is mathematically possible under certain specific conditions, but it could create a number of complex paradoxes. By contrast, travelling into the future is theoretically more straightforward and could be achieved by travelling at speeds close to the speed of light or by being in the vicinity of extremely strong gravitational fields.
Al-Khalili also said he plans to address one of the biggest mysteries surrounding time — why it appears to move in only one direction.
“I have found a scientific explanation for the direction of time,” he said, adding that he intends to present his ideas during the **Royal Institution Christmas Lectures**.
