Why is time called a 4th dimension?

[trevorjohnson32]

2 minutes ago, beecee said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_parallax

 

http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/dark_energy/de-type_ia_supernovae.php

http://sci.esa.int/education/35616-stellar-distances/?fbodylongid=1673

 

As a lay person, my replies are generally dumbed down...Not sure how much further dumbing down I can do.

LOL perrrrrrrrrrfecteeonyeee

3 minutes ago, beecee said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_parallax

 

http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/dark_energy/de-type_ia_supernovae.php

http://sci.esa.int/education/35616-stellar-distances/?fbodylongid=1673

The more I learn, the more I find there is to know, or something, what does it say in the sites, or something.

 

[beecee]

45 minutes ago, trevorjohnson32 said:

 Without knowing how far away it is, how are you going to give it's x,y,z, position based on its position in time?

Your confusion exists in not wanting to accept the fact that there is no universal now. eg: You look at Alpha Centauri tonight, and you are seeing it as it was 4.5 years ago. Theoretically in may have gone supernova in the meantime. But irrespective, your frame of reference is valid, as is the frame of any intelligence orbiting Alpha Centauri.

Quote

because time isn't a coordinate its a measurement of the light an object reflects, it doesn't give away location any better then sound waves like I said.

Rubbish, and total word salad. As I previously said the other day, it appears you do not want to accept an answer due to some agenda. Sound waves have nothing to do with stellar distance measuring, in fact in space no one can here you scream! 

 

Quote

And, what exactly is anyone leading to with this train of thought? It sounds like an attempt to marvel at the word dimension like its going to lead to something bigger.

It appears from where I'm sitting, that its your own train of thought that's in dispute, and you are unable to accept, let alone comprehend any answer that conflicts with whatever personal baggage you hold.

Edited January 19, 2018 by beecee

[trevorjohnson32]

2 minutes ago, beecee said:

Your confusion exists in not wanting to accept the fact that there is no universal now. eg: You look at Alpha Centauri tonight, and you are seeing it as it was 4.5 years ago. Theoretically in may have gone supernova in the meantime.

Rubbish, and total word salad. As I previously said the other day, it appears you do not want to accept an answer due to some agenda. Sound waves have nothing to do with stellar distance measuring, in fact in space no one can here you scream! 

 

It appears from where I'm sitting, that its your own train of thought that's in dispute, and you are unable to accept, let alone comprehend any answer that conflicts with whatever personal baggage you hold.

Awww your no fun anymore!

 

[beecee]

8 minutes ago, trevorjohnson32 said:

Awww your no fun anymore!

Hmm, that sounds like a confession. It appears I may have been right afterall. 

[Strange]

4 hours ago, trevorjohnson32 said:

Alright, I'm not sure if you understand so I'll give another example. The light from a star in the sky shows us its position from however long ago, generally years. Without knowing how far away it is, how are you going to give it's x,y,z, position based on its position in time?

Well, if you don't know how far away t is then, by definition, you don't know where it is (in at least one dimension). And that mans that you don't know what the time difference is either.

But so what? Events there still have a location in space and time, even if you don't know what the coordinates are.

Quote

because time isn't a coordinate its a measurement of the light an object reflects, it doesn't give away location any better then sound waves like I said.

Time doesn't tell you anything about location because the coordinates are independent, by definition.

4 hours ago, trevorjohnson32 said:

And, what exactly is anyone leading to with this train of thought? It sounds like an attempt to marvel at the word dimension like its going to lead to something bigger

At the very least, knowing that you need to specify coordinates means you can meet people for dinner or land a spaceship on Mars.

Beyond that, understanding the relationship between them (e.g. the theory of relativity) has enabled the technology we are using to communicate, which would have been possible otherwise.

3 hours ago, trevorjohnson32 said:

Or was I wrong to bring bacon for that word salad?

The fact that you, personally, don't understand what someone says doesn't make it word salad. It just means you have an opportunity to learn (if you want to).

[trevorjohnson32]

10 hours ago, Strange said:

Well, if you don't know how far away t is then, by definition, you don't know where it is (in at least one dimension). And that mans that you don't know what the time difference is either.

so a tree that falls in the woods doesn't make a sound because no one is there to hear it? I think you need to re evaluate your logic.

[Strange]

2 minutes ago, trevorjohnson32 said:

so a tree that falls in the woods doesn't make a sound because no one is there to hear it? I think you need to re evaluate your logic.

That is a bit of a non-sequitur. (Although, that is one possible answer to the riddle - depending on the definition of "sound")

You said you don't know how far away it is. Therefore you don't know where it is. But it is still somewhere.

But if you are just making up random contradictory statements just for the sake of arguing, then there isn't much point to this. I had a vague hope you might actually be interested in learning. But that now sounds unlikely.

[trevorjohnson32]

14 minutes ago, Strange said:

I had a vague hope you might actually be interested in learning. But that now sounds unlikely.

Hey pal, I'll learn something if you post anything wothy of being learned, IYO.

[swansont]

28 minutes ago, trevorjohnson32 said:

Hey pal, I'll learn something if you post anything wothy of being learned, IYO.

!

Moderator Note

Nobody is forcing you to be here. But as long as you are: lose the attitude. It's wearing very thin. 

(this is not an invitation to discuss the matter. i.e. don't respond)

 

[Shauno]

If we get back to the original problem, space-time is regarded as 4 dimensional since position can be specified by 4 independent coordinates. In GR, the some region around any point in space-time looks like a R⁴ - e.g. for any point near a black hole you can still find a region (possibly very small) that looks like R⁴.

I think we have been sidetracked from the original question by the language used, which tried to simplify the answer by saying that the coordinates can be used to find an object of some sort. Actually the coordinates specify a location even if there is nothing there, or we do not know where something is. Methods of finding things is a totally different topic about which discussion could go on forever.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Shauno

[studiot]

8 hours ago, Shauno said:

If we get back to the original problem, space-time is regarded as 4 dimensional since position can be specified by 4 independent coordinates. In GR, the some region around any point in space-time looks like a R⁴ - e.g. for any point near a black hole you can still find a region (possibly very small) that looks like R⁴.

I think we have been sidetracked from the original question by the language used, which tried to simplify the answer by saying that the coordinates can be used to find an object of some sort. Actually the coordinates specify a location even if there is nothing there, or we do not know where something is. Methods of finding things is a totally different topic about which discussion could go on forever.

Good point, often forgotten +1

Be advised the OP hasn't visited since January.