Time Travel Dictionary

### A

**Air** - An obstruction for time travel, being that air is in the location that you are time travelling to, and you appear there in an instant using time travel, resulting in air and you being in the same space at the same time. However, odds are, very few particles will overlap, which does not mean too many atoms will be completely altered (fusion is an example). However, billions of particles of air will immediately appear in your body, which may or may not have detrimental effects.

**Antitime** - A direction through time in direct opposite of that which humans perceive as normal. Forces applied between time and antitime are applied at 1x multiplier, however the effects will not occur after the force is applied from the applier's perspective. Free Body Diagrams are very useful in visualizing the effects of antitime. Cause and Effect are often flipped in this. Paradoxes are possible between conflicting directions of time, and are quite commonly needed to be avoided when living organisms are going on those conflicting directions. Alternate names:

* Reverse

* Backwards

* Flipped

### B

**Black Hole** - A large quantity of matter condensed to a point called a singularity where the space between electrons and nuclei are touching. Black holes are defined by a region called the event horizon where the gravitational pull has enough magnitude to prevent light from leaving it.

**Braid** - A video game about the recording, deletion, and restoration of the position of most objects. The speed at which objects move can be manipulated, and movements of the player may also be recorded and replayed at the same time at which new recording is being made. Paradoxes are not possible in this game. This game does not have true time travel.

**Bubba Time** - A video game about the manipulation of the speed at which objects move through time. Paradoxes are not possible in this game. This game does not have true time travel.

### C

**Chrono-** - the root meaning "time".

**Chronotron** - A video game about the recording of movements and replaying of all previous recordings. Paradoxes are possible, however can be falsely detected as paradoxes due to glitches/lag. This game has true time travel.

### D

**Divisional Effect** - Over extended periods of time, an event will eventually happen that will result in the same outcome, no matter which possible choice is made. Usually, the multiplicative effect happens first.

**Doctor Who** - A TV show starring an alien with a time machine that travels through time and space. This TV show has true time travel, for the most part.

### E

**Einstein's Theory of General Relativity** - The idea that objects will bend space depending upon the amount of mass they have. The bent space will attract other objects toward the massive object.

**E=MC^2** - The idea that as an object approaches the speed of light, it's energy will be converted into mass. The point it reaches the speed of light, the mass will be infinite, and the energy required to continue moving it will also be infinite.

### F

**Fast Forward** - The target moves faster through time. From an outsider's perspective, that object is moving faster. From the object's perspective, everything but itself is moving slower. Forces inflicted upon the target are divided, and forces inflicted from the target are multiplied.

**Flow of Time** - A term describing the direction of an object or multiple objects through time. (see perspective)

**Flux Capacitor** - In many science fiction works, the Flux Capacitor is the piece of equipment that makes time travel possible.

**Forever** - An infinitely long amount of time.

**Free Body Diagrams** - A visual representation of all the forces acting on a object. Useful for objects travelling alternate directions through time.

**Frozen Time** - This is the equivalent of slowing down time infinitely. Upon being frozen, an outsider would perceive the target as not moving. From the perspective of the object being frozen, everything else would move so quickly that an infinite amount of years would have passed in an infinitely small unit of time, unless an outsider manipulates the flow of time for that object. Any force inflicted upon the target is multiplied infinitely, and will completely obliterate the object. Any force inflicted from the target is divided infinitely, and will do nothing.

**Future** - A series of events that can change based upon the actions of an object/group of objects. Moving forwards through time does not change the future, but rather makes a portion of events in the future part of the past.

**Futureama** - A cartoon that includes time travel. I am intentionally avoiding this to avoid accidentally copying their ideas.

### I

**Irrational Paradox** - A paradox in which each new loop is different from all the older ones. These are incredibly unstable and will eventually repeat (causing a zero paradox), or stabilize. It is practically impossible to create a true irrational paradox.

**Intermediate-Term Time Travel** - Time Travelling to a time which is somewhat close to the time being left.

### L

**Locked** - All events that have happened on an object's or group of object's timeline have been locked, they will now always have happened, even if the cause for them to happen is removed. Timelines can't be locked in the future of an objects timeline, since the future is dynamic, and can change. All forces on a locked object will be ignored, and locked objects will move unstoppably. Unlocking an object in the past will restore that state of the object.

**Long-Term Time Travel** - Time Travelling to a time which is not close to the time being left.

### M

**Mind Games** - Games played where you try to think out what happens in a scenario. Airtoum's Time Travel Mind Games can be found here.

**Multiplicative Effect** - As time progresses, a choice may have greater and greater differences between possible choices.

### N

**Negative Paradox** - A paradox in which an event or attribute of an object decreases in size, amount, or magnitude over each loop. These usually have a limit and may eventually stabilize. However, these also have the chance for evolving into zero paradoxes, which do not stabilize.

### O

**One-Time Loop** - An event that is destroyed and replaced by another event that sustains itself. Useful for getting information, then never actually getting the information but rather deliver it to your past self, changing your need to actually obtain the information to just delivering the information to your past self. This example contains an event that is destroyed (get info and give it to past self) and replaces it with another event which sustains itself (receive info and give it to past self so you can receive it).

### P

**Paradox** - A loop in which the new result is consistently different from the last.

**Past**  - A series of events that cannot change. Moving backwards through time does not change the past, but rather makes a portion of events in the past part of the future.

**Perspective** - The mental alteration of the speed of everything so that a target's speed is the regular speed at which we normally perceive time.

**Positive Paradox** - A paradox in which an event or attribute of an object increases in size, amount, or magnitude over each loop. These usually have a limit and may eventually stabilize. However, these also have the chance for evolving into zero paradoxes, which do not stabilize.

### R

**Results of Paradoxes** - In the event of a paradox which will never stabilize, many different results may ensue. No one has actually created a paradox before, and we are completely unsure as to how time and space will react to this. Some possibilities include:

* Destruction of the universe at the instant the paradox began and onwards
* Destruction of the universe at all instants the paradox was through
* Destruction of the universe at all instants that ever happened
* Destruction of the universe at all instant that ever happened and that ever would happen
* Time gets split into 2 and keeps going (but then where are the parts of the paradox, in timeline A or B)
* The universe prevents paradoxes like this from occurring
* You are actually in a parallel universe. You can do anything here and no paradox will occur. If you try using your time machine again, you will just be in another parallel universe.
* Time will flicker forever

**Reverse** - A term to describe an object or group of objects flowing backwards through time. *See Antitime.*

**Reversing** - When your direction through time is flipped. The instant an object does this it will disappear in the next moment, and two will be in the same spot in the previous moment. Molecular separators are recommended if the two objects in the same spot would like to go opposite directions.

### S

**Several-Time Loop** - Several One-Time loops leading to each other and finally leading to a normal timeline or a paradox.

**Short-Term Time Travel** - Time Travelling to a time which is close to the time being left.

**Slow Motion** - The target moves slower through time. From an outsider's perspective, that object is moving slower. From the object's perspective, everything but itself is moving faster. Forces inflicted upon the target are multiplied, and forces inflicted from the target are divided.

**Space-time Continuum**- Space-time is a mathematical model that combines space and time, which is also known as a continuum.

**Stabilize** - A word used to describe the point where a paradox is no longer a paradox. Each new loop becomes exactly like the last.

### T

**Tertiary Paradox** - A paradox that cycles through three different outcomes.

**Time Dilation** - The idea that the closer you approach the speed of light, the slower time moves around you, slowing you down through time. You will be moving towards the future faster than everybody else, so from your perspective everything else is moving at an accelerated rate. From an outsider's perspective you will be moving slower. I am not sure which speed should be used for how much time is dilating, yours or a third person's. However, if time dilation occurs based upon how fast you are moving from an outsider's perspective, it would be harder to maintain that speed the faster it is which supports another idea here (see E=MC^2).

**Time Manipulation** - Altering the speed at which an object or group of objects move through time.

**Time Travel** - Moving from one moment across time to another. The speed at which you move through time is unaffected.

### W

**Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey... Stuff** - This is time

### Z

**Zero Paradox** - A paradox in which time is constantly changing from two or more different possible resulting timelines. These do not usually stabilize and will need to be carefully avoided.