Time travel in The Terminator (1 Viewer)

[B-Train]

Okay so what was going on there? The whole "only organic material can pass through" story runs a bit shallow to me. I mean, do they really HAVE to go through naked?

And before any of you bleeding heart T-800 sympathizers come out with "muh time displacement equipment!" let me pose this to you: How is the time displacement equipment supposed to just know that it's all organic. Like, if you can just wear human skin (like the terminators do) then why don't people just wear stupid fur coats or something.

I don't know. I'm not a scientist. But I feel like there's a better way to figure this out that doesn't involve totally nude time travel.

 

[Firecross]

I would guess the writers wanted to prevent a plot hole that would allow using future weapons in the past. Remember when Arnold goes to the gun store in the first terminator and asks for a plasma rifle? Wouldn't be much of a resistance if he is blasting cop cars with a future weapon.

 

[TheDeparted]

Consider also that any time travel back or forward into time to your exact location would result in the traveler floating in space, and the whole idea is shot altogether.

 

[FullMonte]

More importantly, remember:

---that rule only applies to the first movie.

--trying to apply logic to Terminator time travel is futile. Think of the whole basis of the movies. Humans are about to penetrate Skynet, so Skynet sends a terminator back to kill Sarah. Humans get in, and send back Kyle. That failed, so Skynet sent back the T-1000. But, if humans were there, how did the t-1000 get sent back? Also, wouldn't the fact that John Connor existed mean that the t-800 failed? So why bother sending him back?

 

[not2rich]

Consider also that any time travel back or forward into time to your exact location would result in the traveler floating in space, and the whole idea is shot altogether.

--trying to apply logic to Terminator time travel is futile. Think of the whole basis of the movies. Humans are about to penetrate Skynet, so Skynet sends a terminator back to kill Sarah. Humans get in, and send back Kyle. That failed, so Skynet sent back the T-1000. But, if humans were there, how did the t-1000 get sent back? Also, wouldn't the fact that John Connor existed mean that the t-800 failed? So why bother sending him back?

My head hurts.

 

[tenordas]

More importantly, remember:

---that rule only applies to the first movie.

--trying to apply logic to Terminator time travel is futile. Think of the whole basis of the movies. Humans are about to penetrate Skynet, so Skynet sends a terminator back to kill Sarah. Humans get in, and send back Kyle. That failed, so Skynet sent back the T-1000. But, if humans were there, how did the t-1000 get sent back? Also, wouldn't the fact that John Connor existed mean that the t-800 failed? So why bother sending him back?

And you forgot: how would Skynet know the first one failed so that it needed to send the t1000? And for that matter (same with T3), how did the humans know they needed to send the reprogrammed t800, much less when in time to send it?

 

[TheDeparted]

This is where the multiverse explanation comes in handy

 

[St. Geezy]

Consider also that any time travel back or forward into time to your exact location would result in the traveler floating in space, and the whole idea is shot altogether.

I've always had similar thoughts about time travel movies.

But I guess that could just be chalked up to the time machines having some sort of built in component to place you at the proper physical spot in the space time continuum.

Boy would that be a sucky way to die should that component fail.

 

[xpuma20x]

Devil's advocate here, but if The Terminator started off with more of the Summer Glau/Kristanna Loken terminators coming naked through the time travel rift, would we be having this conversation?

 

[TheDeparted]

Consider also that any time travel back or forward into time to your exact location would result in the traveler floating in space, and the whole idea is shot altogether.

My head hurts.

All or most time travel sci-fi assumes that the Earth isn't moving, because that's inconvenient. They focus on fixed points on Earth, but that's bunk. If time travel was based on a fixed point within our universe (whatever that means):


The Earth spins at about 1,675 km/hour at the equator. Ignoring all other movement, time travel forward or backward by 12 hours would put you on the other side of the Earth (likely in a mountain, or above the surface - extremely unlikely to re-appear with your feet on the ground).


The Earth revolves around the Sun at 18.5 miles/sec. If you are on the trailing edge of the earth and time-traveled 1 second into the past, you would appear 18.5 miles above the Earth. And about half a mile due East of your original position. Again, assuming that all other movement through the Universe doesn't exist.


The Sun revolves around the center of our galaxy at about 500,000 miles/h or 139 miles/sec. So we're actually moving 139±18.5 miles per second...considering the scenario above, you're more than halfway to the Moon's orbit.


The Milky Way itself is moving through space around "The Great Attractor" at approximately 1,300,000 miles/hour or 361 miles/sec. So now we're moving at 361±139±18.5 miles/sec or somewhere between about 518.5 and 203.5 miles per second, relative to "The Great Attractor", depending on the phases of each of our orbits. And who knows how fast that is moving through our expanding universe?



The only logical way around this, I think (besides a bunch of really complex math and uncanny precision with your time travel device) would be to create "time markers" you can jump to. This pretty much eliminates any ability to go back to the time of the dinosaurs. But when you walk through the time portal you create, remember that you could be dumped out onto your head...so be careful!

 

[St. Geezy]

All or most time travel sci-fi assumes that the Earth isn't moving, because that's inconvenient. They focus on fixed points on Earth, but that's bunk. If time travel was based on a fixed point within our universe (whatever that means):


The Earth spins at about 1,675 km/hour at the equator. Ignoring all other movement, time travel forward or backward by 12 hours would put you on the other side of the Earth (likely in a mountain, or above the surface - extremely unlikely to re-appear with your feet on the ground).


The Earth revolves around the Sun at 18.5 miles/sec. If you are on the trailing edge of the earth and time-traveled 1 second into the past, you would appear 18.5 miles above the Earth. And about half a mile due East of your original position. Again, assuming that all other movement through the Universe doesn't exist.


The Sun revolves around the center of our galaxy at about 500,000 miles/h or 139 miles/sec. So we're actually moving 139±18.5 miles per second...considering the scenario above, you're more than halfway to the Moon's orbit.


The Milky Way itself is moving through space around "The Great Attractor" at approximately 1,300,000 miles/hour or 361 miles/sec. So now we're moving at 361±139±18.5 miles/sec or somewhere between about 518.5 and 203.5 miles per second, relative to "The Great Attractor", depending on the phases of each of our orbits. And who knows how fast that is moving through our expanding universe?



The only logical way around this, I think (besides a bunch of really complex math and uncanny precision with your time travel device) would be to create "time markers" you can jump to. This pretty much eliminates any ability to go back to the time of the dinosaurs. But when you walk through the time portal you create, remember that you could be dumped out onto your head...so be careful!

Maybe that is what this does...

Doc throws out a lot of scientific terms like "temporal displacement" and "space time continuum" throughout the films. Perhaps all of what you've pointed out is calculated and corrected somewhere in the Delorean's time circuits.

 

[not2rich]

All or most time travel sci-fi assumes that the Earth isn't moving, because that's inconvenient. They focus on fixed points on Earth, but that's bunk. If time travel was based on a fixed point within our universe (whatever that means):


The Earth spins at about 1,675 km/hour at the equator. Ignoring all other movement, time travel forward or backward by 12 hours would put you on the other side of the Earth (likely in a mountain, or above the surface - extremely unlikely to re-appear with your feet on the ground).


The Earth revolves around the Sun at 18.5 miles/sec. If you are on the trailing edge of the earth and time-traveled 1 second into the past, you would appear 18.5 miles above the Earth. And about half a mile due East of your original position. Again, assuming that all other movement through the Universe doesn't exist.


The Sun revolves around the center of our galaxy at about 500,000 miles/h or 139 miles/sec. So we're actually moving 139±18.5 miles per second...considering the scenario above, you're more than halfway to the Moon's orbit.


The Milky Way itself is moving through space around "The Great Attractor" at approximately 1,300,000 miles/hour or 361 miles/sec. So now we're moving at 361±139±18.5 miles/sec or somewhere between about 518.5 and 203.5 miles per second, relative to "The Great Attractor", depending on the phases of each of our orbits. And who knows how fast that is moving through our expanding universe?



The only logical way around this, I think (besides a bunch of really complex math and uncanny precision with your time travel device) would be to create "time markers" you can jump to. This pretty much eliminates any ability to go back to the time of the dinosaurs. But when you walk through the time portal you create, remember that you could be dumped out onto your head...so be careful!

You're an expert in time travel AND fast cars!

 

[TheDeparted]

You're an expert in time travel AND fast cars!

Relatively, perhaps

 

[zeetes]

Devil's advocate here, but if The Terminator started off with more of the Summer Glau/Kristanna Loken terminators coming naked through the time travel rift, would we be having this conversation?

i'd be begging for terminators.