It would be cool if they would invent a time portal viewer

[Reverend Conehead]

2 things human will never ever be able to do..... ..... traveling thru time and living outside earth

This device would not allow you to travel through time. You would only be able to observe other times.

 

[cowboyec]

2 things human will never ever be able to do..... ..... traveling thru time and living outside earth

but aren't we doing the 2nd with astronauts aboard the international space station.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

but aren't we doing the 2nd with astronauts aboard the international space station.

Yeah, we did that for short periods on the moon too. I think he might mean establishing a permanent colony on another planet. IMO it would be possible to do so on Mars, but there are A LOT of technical obstacles to overcome, including the fact that Mars doesn't naturally filter out harmful radiation like the Earth does. But I believe it is possible.

 

[The Fonz]

but aren't we doing the 2nd with astronauts aboard the international space station.

yes but within a limit ....the far space is too hostile and dangerous yes we can observe and learn few things but to migrate and live on other planet... not a chance..they tried something on earth and failed (Biosphere 2)
as for the ISS it is still 100 miles away from the Van Allen Belts.

 

[Creeper]

Wait...so you build the viewer...but somehow they can't see you and you can't affect anything. That's completely impossible. Just by observing you're affecting the past. Why? I'm glad you didn't ask but I'm going to answer anyway.

Think about it! What is needed to view something? Photons. So photons have to be able to travel through the viewing device from the past to the present in order for you to see the events in the past. That means you're stealing energy from the past. Photons that might have gone on to affect something else. You're stealing energy from the past!

(Yes, it's a bit tongue in cheek, but you are affecting the overall energy state of the universe, in however insignificant amounts, causing that energy to basically cease to exist for the duration of the time span between what you're viewing and the point from which you are viewing.)

I admit my knowledge of physics and mechanics is stale but if I recall we could look at it this way. Let's say you are on a planet 100 light years from earth with an telescope powerful enough to see earth. What you would see is earth 100 years ago (which to you would look current). Now let's say you could build a reflector to bounce what you see through your telescope back to earth where we had a telescope to receive what you bounced back to us. We would see the earth 200 years in our past. None of this is possible given our current knowledge but maybe someday.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

I admit my knowledge of physics and mechanics is stale but if I recall we could look at it this way. Let's say you are on a planet 100 light years from earth with an telescope powerful enough to see earth. What you would see is earth 100 years ago (which to you would look current). Now let's say you could build a reflector to bounce what you see through your telescope back to earth where we had a telescope to receive what you bounced back to us. We would see the earth 200 years in our past. None of this is possible given our current knowledge but maybe someday.

I was thinking of that, but I hadn't thought up the reflect back part. I had thought of using a telescope 100 light years away, but then it would have to be broadcast back somehow faster than light. But your solution is perfect. Now if there could be different segments, one that gets us info from 200 years ago and another 300, and 400 and so on, that would be perfect. We would learn a lot. Of course, we wouldn't get any sound, but if we could get clear images, that would be great. They would all be overhead shots and it would have to be from a clear day, but it could work theoretically.