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Copernicus showed how apparent motion in the heavens indicates actual motion of the earth. In this blog, I present a postulate that apparent motion in quantum phenomena (light, electrons and quarks) indicates actual motion of the universe we live in.
3rd rule (Entropy and Time): 4d particles of matter snagged on the hyperplane interact with light and reconfigure.
Getting to the Point
Our spatial perspective may be three-dimensional, but our temporal perspective is more or less dimensionless. Each of us lives in a dimensionless temporal point, which I will call the present point—a point which descends along a line of bearing we associate with the arrow of time. For each individual, the moving present point dissects the arrow of time in two. On one side of the moving point lies the past, and on the other side the looming future. Another term I have used for this arrow of time is the PF axis (see commentary on the 1st rule).
The prevailing trend in science, with modern philosophy lending support, asserts that this sense of existing in the moving present may be a psychological reality, but in all likelihood, it is not a physical reality. Spacetime does not afford the universe anything like the present. It is therefore generally thought that human beings may think they live in the present, but they actually exist perpetually and simultaneously in all their moments on the spacetime continuum. As such, the special sensation of living in the present is a great mystery to science. Einstein expressed his feelings regarding this human perception quite aptly: “For us believing physicists, the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
Persistent illusion or not, psychological or not, the human temporal experience appears to be constrained to a point which moves along a line.
And while our spatial experience would seem to have a three dimensional nature, we owe our existence in 3-space to fundamental bits of matter which the standard model of particle physics refers to as “point particles.” Indeed, scientists tell us that everything in the universe is made up of infinitesimal point particles configured in three dimensions in an otherwise vacuous space.
So it would appear that at both the spatial and temporal level we consist primarily of points. We call our temporal points moments. Our spatially configured points we call fundamental particles of energy and matter.
Spacetime treats each moment as a hyperplane, buried in an infinite stack of hyperplanes, upon which lies the momentary configuration of all space, matter and energy at that specified instant. Furthermore, spacetime’s structure is determinate and unchanging. All configurations are fixed and eternal. In contrast, the theory I propose suggests that only one moment exists—a moment with momentum—a temporal state we call the present. Such a moment might be thought of as a hyperplane descending along the PF axis. Particles of matter and energy are not pointy in this theory, on the contrary they actually have an extra dimension that reaches above and below the hyperplane in the directions of the PF axis. We observers in 3-space perceive only point-like cross-sections of these 4d particles.
As the hyperplane descends along the PF axis, those 4d particles intersecting the hyperplane resist the light through which they pass and begin to spin like whirligigs passing through the air. Their motion combined with the shape of the hyperplane in their vicinity cause these 4d particles to reconfigure—to link and unlink with one another in various ways. Because we observe these interactions from a superficial perspective, we fail to notice that each point particle, or collection of associated point particles, is part of a higher dimensional structure intersected by the hyperplane and constrained to a single point upon the PF axis.
Changes of Position and Changes of State
It should be noted here, all puns aside, that there is a big difference between large objects and the quanta that compose them—most notably, the quanta are four dimensional in nature while composite objects on the hyperplane are not. Consequently, electrons, quarks and photons do not change appreciably over time. They may appear to change briefly from a perspective on the hyperplane, but from a 4-space perspective, fundamental particles of matter remain constant in their qualities and in their structure. They change position, but they do not change state.
Three-dimensional objects located on the hyperplane, however, do change state. As fundamental particles of matter move about—interacting, linking or unlinking on the surface of the hyperplane—the qualities and structure of 3d objects become altered. They may disassociate or coalesce; they may decay or regenerate. What they may not do is remain unchanged. All objects on the hyperplane undergo almost constant change.
Besides changing states, objects inside the hyperplane freely change position according to established laws of motion. A planet, for instance, may move from point a to point b over a given duration under the influence of gravity and once set in motion it continues in motion unless some other force is exerted upon it. Such motions along the hyperplane may accelerate changes of state as the motion of the planet drags all of the fundamental matter associated with it through the surface of the hyperplane and through 4-space.
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of clearly distinguishing between changes of position and changes of state. Such a distinction makes it possible for us to devise a alternative way of looking at time. We temporally measure changes of position and changes of state according to standard measures of duration. As a result, we come to think of measures of duration and the concept of time as being the same thing. But they are not the same.
In this theory, we define time narrowly as those changes of state on the hyperplane, resulting from hyperplanar motion through 4-space. As such time is closely associated with entropy. We might even say that time and entropy are synonymous. Time is not a means of measuring temporal durations. In other words, years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds are not measures of time, but measures of duration.
Durations exist whether there is time (changes of state) or not. What’s more, changes of position can exist outside of time. If all changes of state, and therefore time, were to stop tomorrow, changes of position would continue. The universe would not become a frozen configuration of matter and space. Motion would persist and we would measure that motion in accordance with appropriate measures of duration.
Past, Present and Future
In a dynamic hyperplane, time looses its dimensionality. As mentioned before, it becomes pointy. Keeping this in mind, we must forego thinking of time as a navigable medium which can be travelled or explored and replace such thoughts with a notion of time as the trajectory of the hyperplane. The dynamic hyperplane is by definition the present. Like a rocket ship moving through the expanse of 4-space, the hyperplane carries a whole universe upon its surface. You and I are riding the hyperplane as well.
When we think of the past, we think of our wake. The wake of a boat, or the contrail of an airplane, does not constitute the boat or the airplane. It only provides evidence of the track those vehicles have taken. The past is no different. The past is simply the distance we have covered through the reaches of 4-space up until now. Our past configurations do not lie behind us. If the hyperplane were to suddenly reverse course and move upward in the P direction, we would not relive our past. The hyperplane, including each of us, would configure in a new and unique way.
It is important to note here that while the hyperplane as a whole has its specific “wake” or “contrail,” so does every 4d particle intersecting the surface of the hyperplane. So, each constituent member or part of the hyperplane traces its own world line (or “wake” or “contrail”) through the reaches of 4-space.
If we think of the past as the distance our hyperplane has covered through 4-space, then we should think of the future as the hyperplane’s vector—our trajectory or heading—through 4-space. Just as was true with the past, no future configurations lie ahead of us. Our future moments and the world lines we trace through 4-space with those fundamental particles assigned to us is dependent upon where our choices take them. The stars and planets will move inexorably along those courses determined by the laws of nature, including the course of the hyperplane through 4-space, but for us conscious beings, the course of our actions is determined, at least in part, by our desires, our decisions and our determination. We are therefore accountable for our actions and their repercussion. The way our local portion of the hyperplane is configured is largely dependent upon us.
Analogs to the Copernican System
So this new theory describes 4-dimensional particles of energy and matter and their relationship to the motion of the 3-dimensional universe through 4-space. This is analogous to Copernicus' theoretical description of the stars and planets and their relationship to the motion of the earth through 3-space. The new theory's analog for the stars would be those quantum phenomena that appear to move at a constant rate of speed in relation to everything else in the universe--or in other words, light. The analog for the planets with their apparent curious and complex motions would be what we currently designate as fundamental particles of matter.
And just as Copernicus demonstated that the appearance of constant motion in the stars, and the apparent complex motion of the planets, were directly related to actual motions of the earth, so I hope to demonstrate that the appearance of constant motion in light and the apparent complex motion of fundamental particles of matter are directly related to actual motions of the universe.
03-19-2008 01:53 AM 
