Abstract of Paper to be Presented at Accio 2005

Twists and Turns in Time

Troels Forchhammer

Time is in many ways the last frontier. While we can travel almost as we please in the spatial dimensions, our motion through time is quite restricted: we move towards the future at a set pace. There is, however, nothing in the laws of physics that dictates that this must be so: the possibility of moving through time with other speeds than the normal one is an accepted result of general relativity, and even the possibility of motion through time in the opposite direction (i.e. towards the past) cannot be ruled out. All of this opens some interesting questions of not only physical nature, but also of a metaphysical and philosophical nature. This is discussed briefly, and put in the context of Potterverse. The intersection of what is possible according to physics and according to the evidence in the Harry Potter books is analysed for possible consequences and is discussed. Several models for time in Potterverse are discussed in the context of both theoretical physics, literary problems and evidence from the books.

Send an eCard from the Accio Post Office!