Mr. Owor,
To begin with this concpet is 'old' in that it was published way back in July of 2000 -- Wang, Kuzmich & Dogariu 2000 Gain-Assisted Superluminal Light Propagation, Nature 406:277 - 279.
Secondly, a FAQ on "Gain-Assisted Superluminal Light Propagation" explains what I think you are having trouble with, namely, if one can travel faster than the speed of light (c), then it is possible, at least theoretically, to travel back in time:
Q. Is Einstein's Relativity violated?
A. Our experiment is not at odds with Einstein�s special relativity. The experiment can be well explained using existing physics theories that are consistent with Relativity. In fact, the experiment was designed based on calculations using existing physics theories.
However, our experiment does show that the generally held misconception "nothing can move faster than the speed of light" is wrong. The statement only applies to objects with a rest mass. Light can be viewed as waves and has no mass. Therefore, it is not limited by its speed inside a vacuum.
Information coded using a light pulse cannot be transmitted faster than c using this effect. Hence, it is still true to say that "Information carried by a light pulse cannot be transmitted faster than c." The detailed reasons are very complex and are still under debate. However, using this effect, one might be able to increase information transfer speed up to c. In present day technology, information is transmitted at speed far slower than c in most cases such as through the Internet and inside a computer.
source: http://external.nj.nec.com/homepages/lwan/faq.htm
Also see:
http://www.futuredirectns.com/english/news/shattering_light_barrier.shtml
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/4/7/8/1
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/5/1/9
of interest:
http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0022-3700/14/22/015
http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0953-8984/1/16/008
http://www.nature.com/nsu/010719/010719-2.html
ssemakula,
ps: there was a brief exchange -- all in layman's language -- about the theory of relativity on Ugandanet. At the end of it there was a message that contained some references to the topic. It might be worth your while to dig it up from the archives if such things interest you.
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