Back to the Future: A Time Machine?

"Einstein's General Theory of Relativity" is the theory of gravity. It connects gravity with space and time," said Mallett. "That's where it starts."

To break down the complicated theories of how time and space can be distorted by lasers, Mallet uses a breakfast beverage.

"Imagine a cup of coffee in front of you. Think of that coffee in your cup as being like empty space. Think of your spoon as being a circulating light beam. If you stir, it starts swirling. That's what the light beam is doing to space - it's causing empty space when the coffee swirls around," said Mallett.

"If I drop in a sugar cube, the coffee will drag the sugar cube around. In the case of empty space, it's a neutron - part of every atom. If we put it in empty space, the space will drag the neutron around the same way the coffee drags the sugar cube around.