Joined: Feb 13, 2010 Posts: 18787 Location: the island of loveable toy humans
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:05 am Post subject:
people way above my pay grade say that time exists [more or less] as we perceive it, only in our three-dimensional universe- but it is not necessarily the same in other realms.
Joined: Oct 17, 2009 Age: 46 Posts: 5761 Location: Vancouver, BC
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:03 pm Post subject:
Time exists in the same way that distance exists.
We perceive that two events happen, and the way in which we perceive them tells us about whether they are near each other, or far away. Events that happen near each other are more likely to influence each other. As there occurences are farther and farther away from each other, that influence wanes.
And this is just as true for distance as it is for time. _________________ --James
I agree with the post above. I would say time cannot be said to exist in its own right, but it is apparent because things happen. In a universe with no events then time would not be apparent.
I love the idea that the future is there, in the same sense that something 100 feet away is there.
I agree with the post above. I would say time cannot be said to exist in its own right, but it is apparent because things happen. In a universe with no events then time would not be apparent.
I love the idea that the future is there, in the same sense that something 100 feet away is there.
I think time is related to space somehow. For example I think a very simple test having 1 stationary clock and 1 other clock traveling high speeds on a supersonic just will show the clock drift apart. I think I've also heard this effect must be compensated for in our GPS system as it travels high speed in orbit.
Joined: Oct 17, 2009 Age: 46 Posts: 5761 Location: Vancouver, BC
Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:41 pm Post subject:
VIDEODROME wrote:
I think time is related to space somehow. For example I think a very simple test having 1 stationary clock and 1 other clock traveling high speeds on a supersonic just will show the clock drift apart. I think I've also heard this effect must be compensated for in our GPS system as it travels high speed in orbit.
I think time can be distorted by enough gravity.
Well, of course time is related to space. Because two events cannot influence each other if they are outside of their respective time cones. If the sun were to be extinguished at this moment, we wouldn't know about it for 8 minutes, because that is how long it would take for the event to be perceived on earth. An event on the sun cannot have an impact on the earth at that moment--it can only have an impact on the earth 8 minutes farther away in time.
And thus the Hubble radius. Right now, we cannot see more than 14.6 billion light years away. It cannot be done--ever. Now as fast as we can travel to the edge of that radius, the radius will continue to recede from us at the speed of light. So only by breaching the speed of light would we be able to get out ahead of the Hubble radius. But we can't do that, so it can't happen--even though there is plenty of universe out there beyond the Hubble radius.
As for gravity affecting time, that has been proven (pardon the pun) time and again. You don't need to think that time can be distorted by gravity, we already know that this is true. _________________ --James
I seem to remember reading hypothetical effects of being near a black hole event horizon. In one example sending a communication beacon signal back to another ship. As you get closer the beacon signal become less frequent and even it's wavelength changes.
I wondered if that was just because of the gravity or also part of a time distortion.