Time portals are doorways in

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

, employed in various

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

genres, especially

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

, to

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

characters to the

past The past is the set of all events that occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience t ...

future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

. They differ from

time machine Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

s in being a permanent or semi-permanent fixture linking specific points in time, and thus are an especially useful

plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any narrative technique, technique in a narrative used to move the Plot (narrative), plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing ...

when the plot involves characters moving many times back and forth.

Appearance

Time portals can be represented as

vortices In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

, which allow matter to

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

from one point in time to another by passing through the portal, or may appear as an ordinary doorway.

In popular culture

Film

In most films, time portals are used to take a group of people or a single person back in time. The most popular of all time travels would be traveling back to the time of the

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s. In some films time portals can also be set as a hazard, for example, they can begin to go haywire which makes them accidentally transport something or someone from a different time to the present; again the most popular is a dinosaur being accidentally brought into the present world.

Television

The 1966-67 TV series ''

The Time Tunnel ''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science fiction TV series written around a theme of time travel adventure starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction television series and ...

''. In the 1967 ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' episode "

The City on the Edge of Forever "The City on the Edge of Forever" is the twenty-eighth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written by Harlan Ellison, contributors and/or editors to the script included ...

", a temporarily deranged Dr.

Leonard McCoy Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, known as "Bones", is a character in the American science-fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. McCoy was played by actor DeForest Kelley in the original ''Star Trek'' series from 1966 to 1969, and he also appears in the anim ...

runs into a time portal, an ancient sentient stone-like ring which calls itself the Guardian of Forever, and is transported back to 1930s Depression-era Earth and history is changed as shown when the Enterprise disappears from orbit. Captain

James T. Kirk James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in ''Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as captain. Kirk leads ...

and

Spock Spock is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterprise ...

follow through the time portal to set things right. In the 1969 ''

'' episode " All Our Yesterdays", Captain James T. Kirk accidentally passes through a time portal.

and Leonard McCoy try to recover Kirk. All three are transported into the past of the planet Sarpeidon In the TV series '' Mirror, Mirror'' and its sequel ''

Mirror, Mirror II Mirror, Mirror II is a co-production between Australia and New Zealand that was released in 1997. Unlike the first series, '' Mirror, Mirror'', which was one story played out over a number of episodes, this series has individual adventures in ...

'', the story revolves around an old mirror. At the beginning of the story it is discovered that the mirror can be used to travel back into the past, 1919 and 1867 respectively. In the documentary ''

Prehistoric Park ''Prehistoric Park'' is a six-part nature docu-fiction television mini-series that premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. The programme was produced by Impossible Pictures, who also created ''Walking with Din ...

'' in which

Nigel Marven Nigel Alan Marven (born 27 November 1960) is a British wildlife TV presenter, naturalist, conservationist, author, and television producer. He is best known as presenter of the BBC miniseries '' Chased by Dinosaurs'', its sequel, '' Sea Monsters ...

activates a time portal to travel to different geologic time periods to rescue rare prehistoric species. In the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

television series; '' Goodnight Sweetheart'', the main character; Gary Sparrow uses a time-portal to go back in time from the 1990s to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

era

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. In '' The Girl from Tomorrow Part II: Tomorrow's End'', a time portal called '' The Time Gate'' is used by a terrorist from the year 2500 to take water from 1990 to his own time. The

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing ...

'' centres most on the effects of a

rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-grabe ...

in both time and space, through which humans, aliens and devices emerge. In the science fiction TV series ''

Primeval Primeval may refer to: * Primeval forest, an area of forest that has attained great age * Primeval number, a positive integer satisfying certain conditions * Primeval history, name given by biblical scholars to the first eleven chapters of the Bo ...

'', a group of scientists investigate time anomalies, through which creatures travel. '' 11.22.63'' features a school teacher being sent by a terminally-ill friend to go back to the 1960s (via a time portal in a diner closet) to prevent the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

, adapted from the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

Computer games

Time portals are a common element in computer games, most notably the ''

TimeSplitters ''TimeSplitters'' is a series of first-person shooter video games developed by Free Radical Design. The games are often considered spiritual successors to '' GoldenEye 007'' and '' Perfect Dark'', due to overlapping elements in gameplay, design, ...

'' series, which involves characters utilizing time portals to move through time and is intrinsic to the plotlines in the second and third installments of the series, where a character called Sergeant Cortez moves through time to complete his objective by using these portals. Time portals are also the original mode of time travel in the SNES game ''

Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the first game in the ''Chrono'' series. The game's development team included three designers th ...

''. There are quite a few of them found throughout the game and seem to be activated by the use of a "key" made by Lucca. The original portal found in the game actually occurs due to an accident that takes place at the beginning of the game involving Marle's pendant and a teleporting experiment. Most time portals are generated via a handheld item such as a watch, or a glove. However, some time portals are such things as mirrors, or other items such as a key in the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' series. Literal portals, which are not items that you would use on a day-to-day basis, are also common. "Time rips" and time travel in general are the central theme and plot engine in '' Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers'' as the titular character, Roger Wilco, is sent into the future by means of a time rip in order to save his home planet, which had already experienced a series of crises in the future time period to which he is initially sent. Throughout the game, Roger Wilco travels through different time periods in the future to complete various goals by using time-traveling vehicles called "time pods." In the ''

Final Fantasy XI also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Squaresoft and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment of the ''Final Fantasy ...

'' expansion ''Wings of the Goddess'', grotesque statues called Cavernous Maws serve as time portals to the age of the Crystal War. {{DEFAULTSORT:Time Portal Time travel devices