What is Time?

[michel123456]

Hi, I am very sorry that I overlooked your comment in another post to look at post 25# of yours!

 

I agree we never really reach a moment in time, just when we think we have the next moment is already there. There is always a blur at both ends no matter how close one observes them. I once wrote a short paper on the subject, however, I used an arrow and how it flies toward its target always a blur like you say, I rationalized this by saying the movement of the arrow was like infinitely tiny frames on a movie reel, jumping between moments rather than a smooth flow through the air like the flow of a river.

 

If we stand still relative to the universe, time still moves , but once a person starts to move relative to the universe, time slows, this effect of course can only be seen in a meaningful way at colossal speeds approaching the of the speed of light.

 

Some physicists say, however, that there is no real "Arrow of Time" or that time flows smoothly like a river, but time is in reality infinity of separate infinitively tiny moments, extending back to the eternal past and into the eternal future, in both directions from the moment we exist in the present. To understand the theory of infinitely of moments making up the reality of the universe, think of a loaf of bread as the universe and each grain of wheat in the loaf (universe) as a moment or Now somewhere in the universe?.

 

The Left side of the loaf the moment of creation the right into the Infinite future

 

Loaf or universe

 

Big Bang =Past<.................................<NOW>.............................................................> Future

 

Someone on the other side of the universe, directly opposite, could exist in very the same NOW moment as you are. Like slicing the loaf directly in front of you are linking with every other NOW across the time frame you exist in across the whole universe Thus a universal NOW exist across the in the universe at that moment! However the very next moment the "NOWs no longer agree and you must make another slice to see what is happening at the other end of the universe, because the NOW moments jump to different NOWS because of the effect of gravity, mass, speed and relativity

 

However, if you were to slant your hypothetical knife to the left across the universe, which is towards the past from your vantage moment in time you would hypothetically be able to view what, is going on in the NOW moment in the past for of the object you first viewed in the same moment or NOW that was in sync originally with your original moment or NOW.

 

You would be looking at the past of the far off object. Your NOW and its NOW would differ in time and space. You would continue to exist in the ever-jumping subjective NOW but could look into the past of the object in its objective NOW.

 

The same will happen if you took the hypothetical knife, sliced the loaf or universe to the right, toward the future, then you will be able to observe what is going on in the future of the objects NOW future.

thus, every moment that has ever existed from the very beginning of its existence until its end be it heat death or infinite eternity past, to the present, to the infinite future still exists in our universe and the laws of physics cater for that fact

 

Regards

 

Alan

 

The bold part is totally wrong. There is no "other side of the universe", you are confused by the raisin cake analogy. There is no center and thus there is no "other side".

When we look around us to the universe, all that we observe is in the past. There is no point (not even theoretically) where observation goes inverse back into the present. There is no physical mean to observe the future.

Edited October 10, 2012 by michel123456

[Alan McDougall]

The bold part is totally wrong. There is no "other side of the universe", you are confused by the raisin cake analogy. There is no center and thus there is no "other side".

When we look around us to the universe, all that we observe is in the past. There is no point (not even theoretically) where observation goes inverse back into the present. There is no physical mean to observe the future.

 

You might be right what I put out there was an idea that a few astronomers and astrophysicists have theorized I think it is called a block universe, I will check my facts and come back.

[36grit]

Just wanted to throw in my opinion of what time is: The constant shifting of logical position in an expanding universe.

[anotherfilthyape]

I dissagree in the sense that this is a topic in the philosophy of science. We're discussing the definitions of t basic terms used in science. Definitions don't need to be falsifiable, only hyopotheses do. E.g. if I said that the electric field is defined as force per unit mass then it can't be falsified, but that doesn't mean that its wrong. The same with the concept of time.

 

Your example is a scientific concept... However time belongs to a metascientifical term of human experience and human thought, furthermore, it goes beyond human experience and human thought. IF scientists choose to define time and then say "time was created at the big bang" as a conclusion they can be easily begging the question...