2005-10-15: It's about Time!

[Robert]

Our next topic-driven chat session will be held on Saturday, October 15th, at 3:00pm Central Standard Time (CST) or GMT-6. Be sure and vote in this thread's poll so we can all know who's attending. Of course, drop-ins are also welcome, no requirement to register first.

The topic is...

Time
It's About Time We Did This!

On the one hand time is easy to define -- "A nonspatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future." -- www.dictionary.com . It is more difficult, however, to provide an uncontroversial and clear definition of time at a deeper level of understanding.

Questions to Ponder:

1. How and why is time related to space?
2. Is time continuous?
3. Is time uni-directional?
4. Is time one-dimensional?
5. Is there a smallest unit of time?
6. Are there locations in which time doesn't exist. Location may be the wrong term to use since location implies space which can not be separated from time. But you know what I mean.

References:

1. Time - Wikipedia reference.
2. Time-Travel Forum - ToeQuest reference.
3. Time-Traveler Forum - ToeQuest Time Traveler Hotline.
4. The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. Page 376 has a good section titled, "What are Space and Time, Really, and Can We Do without Them?"
5. The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene. Dr Greene's use of the loaf-of-bread metaphor for space-time is well done. You can find examples of this on pages 59, 70, Chapter 5 - The Frozen River, "Does Time Flow?".

Statistics
This will be chat session #14. Since our last chat we have grown from 786 to 823 members representing 92 countries (up from 91). Also we've had 153 members active over the preceding 30 days which is down from 169 that was recorded two weeks ago.

The Usual Timezone Stuff
Ok, the usual stuff... As I already said, the chat session will be held this Saturday at 3:00pm (CST). You can use the timezone converter to convert to your local time. Once there, enter the day and time as specified above, then select US/Central in the "From Time Zone" column and your own location in the "To Time Zone" column, then click Convert. Be sure and unclick the "Use Current Date/Time" option. This will give you the time of the chat meeting in your own local time.

Some other areas:

Texas, U.S. - Saturday, 3:00pm
California, U.S. - Saturday, 1:00pm
India - Sunday, 1:30am
London - Saturday, 9:00pm
Madrid, Spain - Saturday, 10:00pm
Melbourne, Australia - Sunday, 6:00am
New Zealand - Sunday, 8:00am
Sweden - Saturday, 10:00pm
Canada, Eastern - Saturday, 4:00pm
Pakistan - Sunday, 1:00am

Future Chat
These topic-driven chat sessions will continue every other Saturday at 3pm (CST). These will be moderated and a transcript of the chat will be recorded and available for later review. A weekly un-moderated and open-discussion chat will begin in the near future, based on traffic patterns on the website.

We'll meet in Flash Chatroom. See you there!

Regards,
--Robert

[Guille]

The one unique special omni-interesting topic/subject/theme, for all philolosophers, scientists and mathematicians.

I have already something to do in saturday afternoon, but I am porbably back before 10.

[mkirkpatrick]

Great topic Time,we seem to have an awful lot of it!Are time and space
related,they most certainly are,for both are illusions!albeit very real looking
illusions,but however real it may "appear"it is still false,in a realitive sense it
is real,realitive to us and all onlookers,But in an absolute sense,it is an illlusion
There is only Now,and all is within that now,and that now if reaching outwards
from a point,would cover the pre-birth of the universe,the unfolding of the
universe,the end of the universe,and uncle Tom-cobbly and all.The Now is absolute and infinte,ominipresent and all Embracing,what a comforting thought?


kind regards,michael.

[dleviwing]

Time; n The most abused term in physical science today, right next to the term "dimension".
This should be quite an active and opinionated chat.

Robert, would you care to post Dr. Greene's concepts about time for those of us unwilling to contribute to his book crusade for String Theory. I was under the impression he adopted Relativity concepts of time.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A48182-2004Mar10?language=printer

CU there;
Dave

[AntonioLao]

I lost the time of my youth. Now, I want it back. Is this possible considering the constantly and steadily strong current? There is so much to do, but so little time (comparing to eternity).

[Guille]

There is so much to do, but so little time (comparing to eternity).

True, even eternity is small for eternity. But about the conept that don't exist, better not talk.

I think the discussion on time, if we are 5 people up, then it can take hours: each of us has his theory, views, ideas... To present, as well as information, questions, problems... To ponder.

In my opinion time is the change of matter. Thus, it exists only because matter exists, and bcause space exists (for change impplies modification of space (even inner change).

[dleviwing]

I knew you would come around to my way of thinking eventually!!!!

[Guille]

I knew you would come around to my way of thinking eventually!!!!

Was this directed to me?

If it was, well, I've always thought that time as well as space exist because of matter exists, at least since 6 months or more ago. But my conception of it all deffers from yours, I believe, up to what I've seen.

A question I want to ponder to everybody:

Is there time for time? i.e. Is there change for change?

I think this is what chaos theory is all about, the ustable periodic behaviour, iss chang eof change, right? Maybe Antonio can explain it.

[AntonioLao]

In my opinion time is the change of matter. Thus, it exists only because matter exists, and bcause space exists (for change impplies modification of space (even inner change).

You have knowingly or unknowingly hit the nail right on the head driving thru the truth about time. let me explain...

Time is physically implied as the inverse of speed or time/distance. But what is time/distance? It is a probability of being or existence! (Using E=mc^2) The probability of matter becoming energy is 1/c^2 but the probability of energy becoming matter is c^2 (before being normalized). But the probability of continuous space becoming energy is 1/c while the probability of energy becoming continuous space is just c (before being normalized). The probability of continuous space becoming matter is c^3 while the probability of matter becoming continuous space is 1/c^3. These probabilities imply that once matter is formed it will remain forever thus the reason why the proton cannot decay!

If we then normalize the 6 probabilities: c^3, c^2, c, 1/c, 1/c^2, 1/c^3 then the new probabilities are 1, 1/c, 1/c^2, 1/c^4, 1/c^5,1/c^6. These say that the probability of continuous space becoming matter is 1. And that is why matter is constantly moving.

[Guille]

Antonio,

In all of your equivalence porbabilities it is impplied the speed c, what about any random velocity v?