…what is time…
“… the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Einstein
From the earth observer’s position in space, it takes a photon 8 minutes, 20 seconds to travel from the sun to the earth. For that photon, time was absolutely zero. This appears like two co-existing systems of time. More about that later.
Let’s consider a unit of time called the second. Let’s split that second in half, then split one of those halves in half, and then split one of those halves in half. Let’s continue that exercise until we cannot split time any further. Let me know how that turns out for you. Yah, science still doesn’t have an answer for this, although there are interesting theories.
That second, while containing what we define as an infinite component of its existence, is gone, and yet we know it existed as part of our experience of time, of that second as part of the context of what happened across an ever so brief segment of time, the changes in space as, by the way, that second ever so smoothly transitioned into the next fraction-of-a-second. And yet, both and the rest are gone.
Before we go any further, let’s establish a framework for the rest of this writing, so that we can build some type of logical construct, a baseline for communication.
I’d like to start with an observation about the scientific method. It’s a fantastic framework for communication. As such, the entire framework is premised on theory, hypothesis and recorded observation for others to understand, and where possible, replicate — based on an agreement about the definition of terms used to construct the recorded events. The key to this observation is theory. As we dig deeper into a phenomenon, our understanding of the observation is typically refined as we learn more about it. Many times our original theory describing what we witnessed has to be modified in light of additional data. Consider two classics, Galileo and Einstein. Theirs is the story of theory and refinement, to illustrate that all we have today, right now, are theories, and those theories are subject to refinement.
The rest of this writing is simply observations of what we think we know about time — based on described scientific observations, premised on the scientific method, references at the end of this writing.
Consider the photon leaving the sun, where for it, the photon, looking at the earth, time = 0. By the time it gets to earth, nothing has changed, time (as in space-time) still equals zero. Nothing in the entire universe as part of the space component of space time has changed, from the perspective of that photon. The earth is exactly, exactly as it was the moment that photon left the sun. Whereas, from an earth observers perspective, that observer watched as that very same photon left the sun, traveled across the distance between the sun and earth, arriving here at earth 8 minutes, 20 seconds later. Particles, space, and life on earth experienced time, 8 minutes, 20 seconds of changes. Impossible! How could the photon exist in three states at exactly the same point in time, being the moment it left the sun, that very same moment it arrived on earth, where time = 0 and 8 minutes, 20 seconds later on earth, 8 minutes, 20 seconds of space-time change, our position watching the photon leave the sun and arrive on earth? In modern physics, all these three states coexist at the very same point, by virtue of the phenomena just explained. Clearly something doesn’t add up. Perhaps it’s the tools we have with which to describe our observations.
Let’s consider entangled particles. That is, two separate “entangled” particles. Change one and no matter where the other is, even if on the other side of the universe, the other will reflect the change applied to the first, instantly, regardless of space-time. It would appear these particles are not constrained by space, distance, and time. Spooky strange! Yes, these are real measurable quantities of existence not constrained by space and time between them, yet subject to change across a spectrum of change we refer to as time. Take just a brief second to reflect a little about the second half of the previous sentence.
Perhaps we are ready for a new perspective, some addition or change to our toolset, our vocabulary with which we approach the description of space-time.
And so, as we, together, move forward through space and time, and as our tools increase the ability to analyze more than it appears the brain is capable of understanding, and, as those tools eventually comprehend, then the question will become how to share this knowledge with entities that simply do not have the capacity. If we did have the capacity, then we might have solved this space-time riddle. I believe, with time, we can and will solve this riddle. I further believe it will take a past due refinement in our vocabulary, our toolset, with which to describe and better understand the components, the vocabulary of the riddle. Yet, if we are not able to construct the appropriate vocabulary, then, with time, as computers gain a sense of awareness, and the capacity to understand (after all, what is the definition of intelligence?), perhaps those tools will be able to help us, to teach us something new about this space-time riddle within which we find ourselves, eternally bound.
And you may be saying you know nothing about that which you write! And, with a chuckle I respond, “So true,” hence the references. And now that we agree on that, let’s discuss the validity of the references. Cheers.
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References:
“HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE SUNLIGHT TO REACH THE EARTH?” http://www.universetoday.com/15021/how-long-does-it-take-sunlight-to-reach-the-earth/
“A Debate Over the Physics of Time” https://www.quantamagazine.org/20160719-time-and-cosmology/
“How Do Photons Experience Time?” https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/09/30/how-do-photons-experience-time/#6cb87d69278d
“The Big Bang Was Not A Single Point In Time” https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/03/07/the-big-bang-was-not-a-single-point-in-time/#183eb59f2d9f
“Deconstructing Time” https://medium.com/@hankmgreene/deconstructing-time-12cbff8ee131
Wikipedia: “Infinite divisibility” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_divisibility
https://www.quora.com/If-time-flows-does-this-mean-that-a-second-is-infinitely-divisible
Galileo and Einstein http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/
Wikipedia: “Quantum entanglement” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_entanglement
Quora: Is the quantum entanglement effect faster than the speed of light?https://www.quora.com/Is-the-quantum-entanglement-effect-faster-than-the-speed-of-light
“Tangled Up in Spacetime” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tangled-up-in-spacetime/?wt.mc=SA_Twitter-Share&utm_medium=email&utm_source=flipboard
Link to Google Translate Chinese (Simplified) version of this piece: …时间是什么…
Who is Hank M. Greene?
“I am what I said I am, a storyteller. But, you may be asking, from whence did I come and to where do I go? ‘Ten’ holds the key to where I go, and it’s to be determined from whence I came.”
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