Science fiction films and shows like Back to the Future and Doctor Who make time travel seem fun and possible, only requiring a mad scientist, his sidekick, and an elaborate time machine. But is it possible to travel to different moments in time, and how far could we go?

Time travel has been theorized for hundreds of years, gaining in popularity around the time of Albert Einstein. His theory of time relativity linked time and space, causing debate amongst intellectuals.

According to Einstein’s theory, the faster you go, the slower you experience time. If this is true, there is a possibility that we could develop a “time machine”, that allows us to travel faster than the speed of light. However, this only allows time travel to the future.

Sophomore Riley Mason believes that this theory is plausible, but she has some concerns. “You might get stuck in that time period forever, or only for a little while,” she says. Scientists have only scratched the surface on time travel, and there is little information on whether or not you would be able to return to the same world you left behind. Mason says that she would not take the chance, but many would for the sake of knowledge.

However, going to the past as well may not be entirely impossible. A man by the name of Ronald Mallett was inspired by Einstein’s theory and began his research in the 1970s on the correlation between black holes and time travel. He has proven that in theory, circulating light in a black hole could create a space-time loop (academicminute.org).

In the right conditions, neutrons could be arranged to have up and down particles, mimicking binary code, according to Mallet. This means that messages could be sent through the hole to the past or the future. While this does not prove traveling through time, it is the first step for physicists to realize a real time machine.

However, for people to physically travel through time themselves, the human body would have to endure massive amounts of energy. According to astronomy.com, if one jumped into a black hole, they would be infinitely stretched vertically, and would end up “looking like a piece of spaghetti.”

Also, if physicists found a way to progress into the future, there is no guarantee of a return, like mentioned by Mason. The traveler would need to reach the speed of light, which according to Space.com and Einstein’s theories, would most likely be fatal if it was even possible.

Would you risk coming back to an entirely different Earth, millions of years later, if it meant you could travel through time?