Well, here it is, folks! The first appearance of Josie's infamous qi-gong ball!
What happened: When she and Vaughn go back in time, a normal stress-reliever becomes a levitating source of unlimited energy.
What's involved: The initial thing to look at is Newton's laws. Or rather, the first.
Law #1: An object in motion stays in motion, at the same speed, and continues along a straight line, unless an outside force (such as gravity or friction) comes into play. This is known as inertia. It also applies to objects at rest (not moving.) These objects continue to stay in place. Basically objects are going to keep doing what they were doing.
As Josie explains, the ball keeps moving because the space around it has lost its gravity. It continues along unhindered.
So, what is gravity anyway? How did the space around the ball lose it (and gain it back in Inquiry?)
According to Einstein, gravity possibly occurs as a result of warped (curved) space. Wait.... Huh????? How the heck can space warp?
*** "Wormhole" readers start here. "Fate" readers keep going. Visual below.
Okay. Think of a blanket. Four people are pulling this blanket taut, each from a corner. Now this taut blanket represents a cross-section of space, perfectly straight. But drop a ball on it. What happens?
It bends around the ball.
This is true for all objects. Each one affects the blanket differently. Try a bowling ball, a beach ball, and a marble. The bowling ball obviously has the greatest effect, but all masses will warp space to some degree.
You say fine, that makes (some) sense. But space is not a blanket. It's everywhere!
True.
But in order to have curved space, our basic three dimensions won't do. If they really exist, dimensions 5+ (time is often considered dimension #4) are unobservable to the naked eye. Still, they would allow us to lay multiple "blankets" over every possible surface of our ball in absolutely every direction.
So how come I can't see the effects of stuff bending around a planet? And what about inertia? How does something like light move straight if space is bent?
Well, it does move straight, but at the same time, it doesn't. Again... "Huh?"
Pretend you're walking. Go straight, and never turn. Keep going. Going. Going. I've given you the ability to walk on water so the ocean is no trouble. Keep going. Going. Oh, my gosh! You're back where you started from! But you never turned. The earth is curved.
This is what supposedly happens in space.
You insist you walked in a perfectly straight line, and you're not lying. However, an astronaut watching from a shuttle says you walked in a big circle. He's telling the truth as well.
It's all relative (depends on your point of view.) The light's path is curved, but whatever it bounces off of appears straight ahead.***
In Stopwatch, Victor warns Vaughn that the ball "conserves momentum at a tremendous rate."
What is momentum? Mathematically, its basic description is the product of mass times velocity.
Okay. Time for Newton's Law #2. Vic Pearson, wanna help us out?
"...It sped up each time it hit the wall!... Acceleration equals force divided by mass– unlimited energy!"
Thanks.
When the ball is pushed, it continues, as we have said, until something interferes. In this case, it was the wall.
Guess what? Law #3! For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Forces always come in such pairs. Otherwise, things like bookshelves would collapse when objects are placed on them. As hard as the ball hits the wall, the wall pushes back with the same force. In the absence of gravity and friction, momentum is conserved.
If momentum is conserved, that means none is absorbed by the wall. All of it remains as the ball bounces back.
As no one fully understands gravity, I can't explain how the ball thwarts it.
Another mystery is the method of energy extraction, as it would undoubtedly require added energy to obtain any power. Ech.
*As time travel is featured in many episodes, visit the Time Travel Options page for information on what happened in this particular one.*
Final Verdict: Just maybe.
As of today, finding a method for manipulating gravity seems like wishful thinking. However, if it were to be accomplished, the possibilities would be practically endless. As soon as we figure out exactly how gravity works, we can most likely do this.
