State Rep. Jon Woods, who’s seeking a Senate seat this year, has other weighty matters on his plate. From his Facebook page:
If your interested in Time Travel or a fan of Albert Einstein please clear out this Friday at 400pm. I’ve asked the U of A to fly down Theoretical Physicist Dr. Ronald Mallett from the University of Connecticut to give a colloquium Friday 400pm Room 133 in the Physics Building followed by a book signing. Dr. Mallett has been on the history channel, discovery and CNN about his time machine theories. We are looking at building the worlds first time machine on campus in Fayetteville using lasers to twist space. In the science community it is called “frame dragging”. Watch this link below [above] to get better understanding.
But wait a minute, wait a minute! That’s not the best part! Check out the response from University of Arkansas’s Charlie Allison, managing editor in the office of university relations-
I am assured that the physics department is not building a time-travel machine. Tongue firmly in cheek: The only time machine built recently on campus is the clock installed in the south tower of Old Main in 2005 to celebrate the success of our Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. That clock appears to work just fine in its measurement of our movement through the space-time continuum. We do not appear to need another time machine at this time.
However, physicists who get together are apt to talk about things like time machines and time travel, both in theoretical terms as they relate to the theory of relativity and in applied ways that might test that theory. I wouldn’t be surprised if that conversation happens at this lecture, too.
Wood’s response came a few days after all this came out:
I asked the Physics Department if they would consider Dr. Mallett to be part of the Physics Department’s lecture series for the semester. They agreed and flew him down. My posting of the subject was to generate more public interest in physics, nanotechnology, quantum mechanics and Einstein’s general theory of of relativity. “Time Machine” was used as the hook to draw interest. It was a fun week.
Yeah I bet it was fun. Woods is locked in a tight primary race with Senator Bill Pritchard, himself a bit of a nut, and either one will face Diana Gonzalez Worthen, one of the best state senate recruits on our side running in a district that is potentially competitive. But hey, if it goes sour for him I’m sure Woods could fix everything with his DeLorean.
