Lots of people believe that time is a man made thing, but I believe that it is the way of measuring time and its name that are the only made up parts of time. I believe that time is relative to motion , space, gravity and from a religious point of view, God. I say motion because every thing in the universe is moving in one way or another, and speed is a measure of time, so motion must play a part of time. I say space because according to spacetime, spacetime is 4-dimensional and a continuum, and time is a distinguished, one-dimensional sub-space of the continuum. I say gravity because when thing enter areas of higher gravity, from an outside the area they appear to move slower(motion/speed) and given the right conditions organisms will live longer. The reason i say God is because I believe the the universe(s) has a set limit of “time” before God ends all life, but the way God has the time set could be different from the way we measure time. This would mean that our way of measuring time is that which is made up and not time its self.
I would appreciate your opinions on my theory as well as your own theories.
In my belief time as we know it is a linear consruct that we know very little about, and i dont think that at the moment we have the mental capacity to understand it.
Time is something that we know very much about. There are four dimensions: 3 of space (i.e.: length, width and height), and one of time.
Elementary physics shows this. It is specifically Einstein who states the four dimensions are actually inseparable; a collecive entity of spacetime. What affects space, affects time as in the case of velocity (special theory of relativity) and mass (general theory of relativity).
Things continue to exist as perceptions alter, thus time exists. The dissection of time into increments is man-made, but that is irrelevant. Time is a vector which can be assigned the scalar “second” just as length can be assigned the scalar “meter”. No one argues that length doesn’t exist unless they deny truth in human perception, but that is an argument for another time.
Btw, Objects wouldn’t live longer under any conditions in regions of higher gravity, they appear to live longer to external observers. That is the “relativity” of which you speak, the age of the object is “relative” to the viewer. The actual object thinks time is moving normally, and that itself is aging normally. Everything is relative.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading up on String Theory lately. While it’s far from a verifiable science at the moment, it points to something that is applicable in the current discussion.
This “spacetime” that we know of doesn’t apply at the quantum level. When quantum mechanics and relativity try to merge - either with black holes, the big bang, or at the scale of the very small - both theories explode. They yield infinite answers, the scientific equivalent of nonsense.
We may inhabit a world with ten dimensions, possibly even 26.
But there’s something even more important here: strings, by having extension, unlike the point-particles required for quantum theory, give the universe a texture, like a woven rug, where between the threads there is no time at all. Calling time “continuous” in this framework is little more than a very crude way of speaking - we only experience continuity because it’s broken apart only on the tiniest of scales.
Philosophically speaking, whether or not string theory holds up in light of yet to be determined tests, we have to be careful with our assumptions as to time’s nature. This raises a weird possibility: if if time is discontinuous on a small enough scale, it may not be fundamental, and therefore may not be a fundamental principle. We may be debating the reality of the finger without taking into account the body it’s attached to. We may be ascribing an absolute reality and wholeness to a concept which may only be a part of something.
I’m also leery of depending so much on science. Science verifies things only within the framework of the theory being adopted. It doesn’t give a picture of the whole of reality, but only the part to which it’s concerned. And, being science, it’s falsifiable, so it’s likely that one could be easily seduced by appearances. A useful guide in the quest for understanding, a sign pointing the way perhaps, but nowhere near the end of the quest.
i see, you all raise good points, which is now more necessary for me to understand, i showed my history teacher my theory, and he said if i explain it in more depth he’ll except the paper as a make up assignment since i’m failing. and if didn’t notice how i forgot to think about the relativity situation, its a good point. also i don’t really like the string theory because its suppose to be the theory of everything, and when they first started researching it, they found more and more different string theories, but it does bring up a good point.
Actually, Zero, you’re right, there were many String Theories at one time. But that was before the invention of “M” theory, which showed that all the prior theories were just different ways of describing the same thing. It mostly has to do with symmetries and translations, but it’s now believed that M theory may be something like the final, mature theory of strings.
I think that the “Theory of Everything” thing is a little off too. It’s a bit too exuberant and arrogant a statement, and I’m sure as our understanding improves we’ll see that there’s more to uncover.
Does time exist? What is time? Lots of people believe that time doesn’t exist or that it is a man made thing. They are wrong, time does exist but the way it is measured is man made. I believe that time is relative to five factors. These five factors are motion, space, gravity and relativity, and from a religious point of view, God. Why do i believe this? I believe this because these five factors are never ending, exist everywhere, and effect everything. Now i will explain these five factors in more detail to further prove my beliefs.
Firstly I must say that the intervals in which we measure time are the only man made parts of time. This is the same for the intervals in which we measure length, but most people who deny the existence of time wouldn’t deny the existence of length. This is to say that for one to deny the existence of time they must deny the existence of length. I believe this because those that say time is a man made thing should take note that length is measured by a man made method also.
Now onto motion. Everything in the universe is moving in one way or another. Speed is a measure of length and time. No measure of speed can exist without time. This is because speed equals unit of length per unit of time. It is similar for things such as filming and rewatching something. Things being watched move at move at frames per unit of time. I believe that every thing in the universe is moving because of the pull of gravity.
Space is also another factor of time. This is because spacetime is four-dimensional and a continuum. This means that where ever the three dimensions of space, length, width, and depth exist, so must time. I believe this because i believe that time exist where ever space exist. Next, gravity and relativity.
Gravity can cause things to speed up or slow down, and is the reason everything in the universe moves. This increase or decrease of speed is relative to the space it occupies.Things move differently in different amounts of gravity. When something enters an area of higher gravity, it appears to move slower from an outside view. Since time is relative, inside the area of higher gravity it would appear as if every thing is moving normally. I believe this to be true because of the scientific evidence we have obtained through years of research.
Lastly, God effects time. I believe that God has a set amount of “time” for the universe(s) before all life is ended. How ever, this doesn’t mean that time will cease to exist. I also believe that God measures time differently than we do. I believe this to be true because i believe in God.
Now to answer the question of does time exist. The answer is yes, and the previous reasons explained are why. I will now answer the second question of what is time. Time is the relationship between all events that take place in a spacetime continuum, and involves at least one of the factors of time. This would mean that time exist even when no one is around to measure it. This philosophy is the reason i believe that time exist.
String theory? Man that’s so passe, the new buzz theory is MWI(Many Worlds Interpretation) it may of been around for a while but it’s very popular now and growing more so. I think string theory is ultimately going to be unverifiable and so will fade into the annals of history with all the other non substantiated fad “theories”. Maths does not a theory make. MWI is based on a lack of real understanding of Copenhagen Interpretation IMO, and so that’s doomed as well, quite apart from being completely unverifiable in any meaningful way.
Stick with relativity, at least it actually is a theory and not a hypothesis or interpretation. I think what we need to really put gravity and time into a meaningful framework with quantum mechanics, is to understand what is really going on, at the moment were looking at matter through a looking glass when we need a microscope. So theories are somewhat stymied with a lack of measurement. Called the measurement problem funnily enough.
Passe? Really? And “math does not a theory make?” Is that so? It seems to me that physics has made great strides with little BUT mathematics since Newton came on the scene.
In your opinion string theory will not be verified. Fine. But opinions are a funny thing. As Socrates would say, opinions are somewhere in between real knowledge and total ignorance. They can be good or bad compared to other opinions, and they can ultimately be right or wrong once facts enter in.
I’m not throwing my hat in with string theory. You’ve missed the point of what I’m saying here. All I’m saying is that, in trying to reconcile quantum mechanics with relativity, string theory has caused us to reconsider some very basic assumptions about space and time. It’s not that it’s correct; it’s that it’s thought-provoking.
String theory is a POTENTIAL new direction, not THE new direction, and it implies things about space and time which may or may not be true, but the ideas do have to give us pause.
The measurement problem you talked about is a gigantic issue, and it’s likely that gigantic issues will require gigantic thoughts, so we may as well take what we can from string theory and all the others as a stretching exercise for our brains. When we can say, “Maybe it’s like this,” progress has already been made. We’re willing to set assumptions aside, and really, that’s what the topic of this thread is all about, isn’t it?
You’re confusing scientific theory with the more commonplace use, a theory has to has some corroborating evidence or it is still only a hypothesis, more correctly string theory should be string hypothesis. If you want me to be blunt it’s little more than mental masturbation, but then I think it’s a horrible theory. And yes string theory is falling out of favour because it just isn’t producing anything verifiable, in other words it’s a proto-theory with nothing substantive. I can understand why philosophers may like it though, after all all it is philosophy.
Time is a product or necessity for the creation of the physical universe and was here before man, if there are other dimensions then it is possible that Time might not exist there.