Skip to main content

back to the future - Can the Delorean meet its speed requirement without moving?



Everyone knows that to time travel, the Delorean had to "hit 88 MPH".
Watching the movie right now though, got me wondering...


When Doc first demonstrates the time machine to Marty, he holds the brakes and revs up the drive wheels. This got me wondering... does the Delorean have to actually be MOVING at 88 MPH? Or is it somehow tied to the speedometer? What if he had the back wheels up on rollers, like they do when doing the emissions test on cars, and got the wheels (and speedometer) up to 88 while the car itself was still actually stationary?


To clarify, I am not asking why the "magic speed" was 88. There are some pretty good answers to that on the question Izkata linked to in his comment.


Nor am I asking why he needed to use a car. He didn't. He stated that in the first movie.
If you're going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with style?
He CHOSE to use a car as his platform, and the Delorean for style.


More, I'm asking, regarding the functionality of the time machine AS BUILT into the car, what exactly was it that had to hit the magic speed? I see two possibilities...





  • the car had to be in actual spatial motion. maybe it had to do with the friction of the air over those "flux dispersal" stripes around the car or relativistic motion of the car to the surrounding environment or something.




  • only the speedometer was required to hit the target speed. the car itself could have the drive wheels lifted or on rollers of some sort, that would allow the speedometer to hit the magic speed without the car actually moving.





Answer



I think Back to the Future 3 offers an answer. While in the past and out of gas, Marty and Doc try to get the car up to 88 mph. Two of their attempts suggest that the car needs to be moving at 88 mph, and not just the wheels spinning at the same rate as if the vehicle was moving at that speed. They drag the Delorian behind a bunch of horses, and they push the Delorian in front of a train.


Now, treadmills existed at the time (Wikipedia says they're pretty damn old). Moving a car at such a high speed takes more energy than putting the car on top of a treadmill and just spinning its wheels. Doc possesses the knowledge and skill to have tried this, so I posit that he didn't try it because it wouldn't work.


There's something about moving at 88 mph that enables time travel, it's not just a matter of spinning wheels.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion