Danica Davidson
July 16, 2024 
In the Dragon Ball universe, the Room of Spirit and Time (a.k.a. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber in the English dub) has time move much more slowly and has considerably more gravity, allowing for a one-of-a-kind opportunity to train. Could something like this ever happen in the real world? An interview in V Jump and on the official Dragon Ball site asks Professor Nobuyoshi Ohta (a visiting professor of physics at Taiwan’s National Central University) about his thoughts. The interview is originally from 2023, but recently made a reappearance in the pages of V Jump.
The interviewer, Maishiro, starts out by noting, “The Room of Spirit and Time has many special features, but probably the most well-known aspect of this amazing room is that you can spend a year inside with only a day passing in the outside world.”
Professor Ohta then explained:
In terms of physics, the exact opposite of that is possible.
If it were “a year had passed in another place, but it has only been a day for me,” that sort of phenomenon has been observed. . . . time flows slower where there is stronger gravity.
Let’s compare a space station to Earth. We know that time flows more slowly on Earth where there is stronger gravity, right? So, similarly, if we were to compare a baby born where there is stronger gravity to a baby born where there is weaker gravity, they would grow at different speeds.
When asked, “Could you explain a bit more what a ‘place with stronger gravity’ would be like?” Professor Ohta replied:
Large astronomical bodies like Jupiter and our Sun are good examples of what they’re like. But there is a place you could put your enemies where the gravity is not necessarily strong. That place is near the event horizon of a black hole.
Time flows extremely slowly at an event horizon. The larger a black hole is, the weaker the gravity is near the event horizon. Even though the gravity is weak, time would still flow very slowly there.
This is because the event horizon of a large black hole is farther from the center. However, it would be dangerous. If you go inside an event horizon, you can’t leave. So, you’d have to get close as you could without actually going inside.
You can check out the whole interview here! We’ll have to wait and see if the Hyperbolic Time Chamber resurfaces in Dragon Ball Daima.
Source: Dragon Ball Official Site
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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