Reading for Information
Comparing Texts
Magazine Article: From Here to There: The Physics of Time Travel
By Brad Stone
Will you ever be a tourist visiting the past? If so, would the fate of a prehistoric butterfly actually shape the fate of a civilianization? Critical
questions like these have been and continue to be the debate among physicists that study the potential of time travel.
TIME TRAVEL—it’s the dream of every
Science-fiction hack who’s ever picked up a pen,
and the fantasy of many of the rest of us, too.
How wonderful to go back and right the wrongs
of the past! But time travel could also let you go
back and cause an accident that kills your greatgreat- grandfather, negating your own existence
and provoking a potentially universe-ending
paradox. At least that’s what armchair temporal
theorists worry about. But not Paul Nahin. He’s a
professor of electrical engineering at the
University of New Hampshire and the author of
Time Machines: Time Travel in Physics,
Metaphysics, and Science Fiction. And he’s able
to translate into plain English an ongoing,
esoteric debate between some of the smartest
minds in physics over whether time travel is
actually possible. “The laws of physics as we
know them now don’t disallow time travel,”
explains the 57-yearold Nahin. “Anything that
physics doesn’t forbid must be considered.”
Scientific consideration of time travel has its
roots, with much of modern physics, in the
genius of Albert Einstein, who married space and
time in his theory of relativity. Doing further work
on relativity in 1948, mathematician Kurt Gödel
declared that it would actually be possible to
travel through time under the right conditions.
Serious scientists didn’t give the matter much
thought until the mid-’80s, when Carl Sagan’s
novel Contact sent its heroine on a journey
through space-time via a wormhole (a
theoretical hyperspace tunnel connecting two
points of the universe). That intrigued
researchers at Caltech, who three years later
released a groundbreaking report on the
plausibility of traveling through wormholes.
British physicist Stephen Hawking
has been the most prominent skeptic,
hypothesizing that any attempt at time
travel would lead to a “back reaction,” a
massive buildup of energy that would rip space
apart. His theory is called the
Chronology Protection Conjecture, since
it would make history safe from explorers who
might meddle in important historical events.
The best evidence against time
travel, according to Hawking’s writings, is
that “we have not been invaded by hordes of
tourists from the future.”
Other physicists, hoping to prove that time
travel is theoretically possible, have devised on
paper four different ways to do it. But all
require unrealistic quantities of energy under
hugely improbable conditions.
Each proposal has supporters and detractors.
But the one thing that physicists don’t waste
much time on is the paradoxes—like altering
the present by killing someone in the past.
Nahin says time-travel paradoxes are “manifestations of
imperfect understanding.” So whatever the resolution of
the time-travel debate, rest assured that grandpa is
safe.
After Reading Questions:
1. (Clarify DOK 1) According to Professor Nahin,
is time travel possible?
2. (Recall DOK 1) Where does the “consideration
of time travel” stem from?
3. (Summarize DOK 2) According to Dr.
Hawking, what could potentially happen if
someone attempted time travel?
4. (Make inferences DOK 2) What is something
that all scientists consider when thinking about
time travel? Use evidence from the text to
support your answer.
Reading for Information
Comparing Texts - Movie Poster for The Time Machine
Common Core Standards: RL. 7 Analyze the representation of a subject in two different artistic mediums.
The Time Machine, written in 1895 by H.G. Wells, inspired both fiction writers and scientists to contemplate the prospect of time travel. This book was so
popular with readers it was turned into a major movie more than once. One film based on the book is advertised in the poster below. For more on the original
time travel movie watch the movie trailers found @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQuHxL-SAyI
Close Read
Evaluate Details: How would you
describe the setting that this
movie portrays?
Make Inferences: Compare “The
Sound of Thunder” by Bradbury
and the main image on the poster.
In what central way is The Time
Machine probably different from
“A Sound of Thunder”?
Assess: Does this movie poster
capture your interest? Would it be
successful in persuading you to
see the movie? Explain your
answer.
Reading for Information
Comparing Texts: Extension Activity
Comparing Texts - Movie Posters for Back to the Future series
Common Core Standards: RL. 7 Analyze the representation of a subject in two different artistic mediums.
Nearly 100 years after H.G. Wells wrote his novel on time travel, people have remained fascinated with the idea of being able to go back in time. Below are three
movie posters from the wildly popular “Back to the Future” movie series from the 1980’s. As you analyze these movie posters, think about how far scientists
have come with time travel. Are we any closer today to being able to travel through time then we were in 1895 when H.G. Wells published his novel The Time
Machine?
Interested in time travel? Watch the official movie trailer for Back to the Future (movie #1) @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbT4gf5dw6A
Close Read
Analyze Visuals: How
would you explain the
settings of each movie
poster? What is similar?
What is different? Pay
attention to the
expressions on the
characters faces.
Make inferences: What
can you infer about each
movie based on the visuals
provided in each poster?
Evaluate: Do these posters
capture your attention?
Would you be persuaded
to see the movies based
on these posters? Explain
your answer.
Make Inferences: Do you
think there will continue
to be books written and
movie made about time
travel? Explain your
answer.
Timed Writing: Performance Task
Short Constructed Responses
Common Core Standards: W.10 Write routinely over shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Literary Text: “A Sound of Thunder”
The assessments you will be required to complete will ask you to shape clear, sensible ideas about a text and support your ideas with evidence. To
strengthen your critical reading skills, respond to the short constructed response question below. The Writing Strategies will help you develop a
successful response.
Short Constructed Response Writing Prompt:
What theme, or central message, is Bradbury conveying through “A
Sound of Thunder”? Provide support for your answer by using evidence
from the story.
Writing Strategies
-
A theme is a general statement about life that readers can infer
from a literary text. The theme should be stated in the first
paragraph.
Remember the evidence can be taken from the text in the
shape of a direct quotation, a paraphrase, or specific summary.
For a prompt that applies to an entire literary work, consider
using a summary of specific events in the story, as evidence.
Nonfiction Text: Magazine Article “From Here to There”
Specific organizational patterns, such as cause and effect, problem-solution, and comparison-contrast are used by authors of nonfiction texts to
organize their ideas. Contemplate using text’s organization when coming to conclusions about a text’s meaning. Practice implementing the Writing
Strategies below when crafting your short constructed responses like the one below.
Short Constructed Response Writing Prompt:
What is the main purpose of “From Here to There: The Physics of Time
Travel”? Support your response with evidence from the article.
Writing Strategies
-
Reread the article and look for what the author is comparing
and contrasting.
In your thesis statement, state the article’s main purpose(s)
Always include evidence to support your ideas
Comparing Literary and Nonfiction Texts
Assessments will require students to synthesize the ideas shared in multiple texts. Practice this important skill by applying the following short
constructed response question to “A Sound of Thunder” and “From Here to There: The Physics of Time Travel.”
Short Constructed Response Writing Prompt:
Imagine “A Sound of Thunder” were a true story. Whose theories in
the magazine article would the plot contradict? Support your answer
with evidence from both texts.
Writing Strategies
-
You will need to provide evidence from both the texts to
support your response.
The connection between your answer and the evidence from
both texts must be clear and recognizable.