What is time..

[Gwand]

There is a wonderful book by string theorist Briane Greene called, The elegant universe, which beautifully explains these complex phenomenon.

 

[BernardSmith]

Just got entangled in my computer cables and all the lights in my house went out... Talk about everything being intertwined.

 

[TxBrew]

Time is real. It's a dimension same as the others, but it's one direction. We move froward through it.

The concept of time is not solely based in observation. The degradation of bonds at an atomic level would happen if observed or not, so time in this regard is a very real concept. We unit it the way we see fit, but there are more scientific methods of measurement, like the Plank length.

 

[JohnT]

Time is real. It's a dimension same as the others, but it's one direction. We move froward through it.

The concept of time is not solely based in observation. The degradation of bonds at an atomic level would happen if observed or not, so time in this regard is a very real concept. We unit it the way we see fit, but there are more scientific methods of measurement, like the Plank length.

Ok,

So let me ask..

If time is real, and is a part of the universe, then did time exist before the big bang?

If not, then how could the big bang be possible? Time did not exist.

If it did exist before the big bang, then how could it be real (existing before anything could exist)?

 

[olusteebus]

Let me have a glass of two tonight and I will give you my rendition as to why time does not exist. In the meantime, I will be making up something.

 

[BernardSmith]

Ha ! Wouldn't it be funny if there was a sub atomic particle that imparted time into matter in much the same way bosons add mass to matter - so time was created at the same point that matter was and its apparent direction is because the universe is expanding and not because of any inherent quality in time itself.

I know zip about physics but don't physicists agree that there is nothing inherent about time that prevents the vector moving in any direction (although presumably the second law of thermodynamics would suggest that systems move from order to chaos (from hot to cold) as time progresses and not from disorder to order - except in the case of life itself (perhaps) so at some point in time the expansion of the universe will slow down ... stop ... and then ... what? Contract? So the universe itself will become an unimaginably massive but unimaginably tiny black hole ...

 

[sour_grapes]

Ok,

So let me ask..

If time is real, and is a part of the universe, then did time exist before the big bang?

If not, then how could the big bang be possible? Time did not exist.

If it did exist before the big bang, then how could it be real (existing before anything could exist)?

Here is Stephen Hawking's proposed answer to your questions. He posits that, although both the universe and regular time itself had a beginning at the time of the Big Bang, there was a way to imagine this happening without a singularity at which time and the laws of physics broke down. I am afraid the technical issue is over my head. I also don't know how widely accepted Hawking's views are.

 

[sour_grapes]

I know zip about physics but don't physicists agree that there is nothing inherent about time that prevents the vector moving in any direction (although presumably the second law of thermodynamics would suggest that systems move from order to chaos (from hot to cold) as time progresses and not from disorder to order - except in the case of life itself (perhaps) so at some point in time the expansion of the universe will slow down ... stop ... and then ... what? Contract? So the universe itself will become an unimaginably massive but unimaginably tiny black hole ...

Few comments: Yes, it appears that the universe's expansion will stop, turn around, and contract and implode on itself. ("The Big Crunch.") At least as best as we know now.

About whether "life itself" is an exception to the Second Law: No, it is not. The Earth is not a closed system; energy is being pumped into it by the sun. The total entropy of, say, the sun+Earth is increasing, even if there is a local decrease on Earth having to do with life. This violates the Second Law no more than a rock warming up in the morning sun (i.e., going from cold to hot).

 

[tonyt]

All you smart people and non of you could answer my thread/question of why my Chardonnay has white floatong haze in the bottles.

 

[Thig]

here is my question... Is time real?

I just finished reading "The Dragons of Eden." The only "now" there is, is in your mind. Everything else is in the past. We have no problem thinking about a star light years away. If it is 50 light years away we are seeing what it looked like 50 years ago, we are seeing history.

When someone walks into the room it takes a split second for the light to enter your brain and your brain to register that you are seeing someone. You are not seeing it the instant it happened, so you are seeing history. Same thing when someone speaks, you are hearing what they said a split second ago, history.

Time is like a line with no beginning and no end, we just cut out pieces of it and call it a day or a week.

 

[BernardSmith]

All you smart people and non of you could answer my thread/question of why my Chardonnay has white floatong haze in the bottles.

But YOUR question is one that is REALLY difficult to answer.. as opposed to the persistent questions we all endure... and shrug off as if they are not serious

 

[jamesngalveston]

when i was young...i had all the time in the world, now as i am 60 i find it is running out......crap, I should have done a lot more partying, and had a lot more girl friends for sure....even the one nighters...now all my girlfreinds want to stay a week, they dont drive at night, and all have pill boxes that have timers in them to tell them to take the dang things....
just saying....time....even my wine is long term aged at 30 days.

 

[sour_grapes]

I just finished reading "The Dragons of Eden." ....

Time is like a line with no beginning and no end, we just cut out pieces of it and call it a day or a week.

Except that it DID appear to have a beginning. Why do you say "like a line with no beginning"?

 

[Thig]

Except that it DID appear to have a beginning.

When was that beginning? If you say the big bang then how did the material for the big bang get there? I don't buy into the thought that something can be created from nothing. It is the old question why is there something rather than nothing. My mind just tells me even if you could go back to the beginning of time, "something" had to be here before that.

 

[winointraining]

I have to agree with James. As James said when I was young I had all the time in the world, holidays took forever, time between birthdays seemed like 900 days instead of 365 days. now in my 60s, birthdays come and go in a couple months seem like. The old saying "if I knew I was going to live this long I'd have taken better care of myself" seems true.

I think time is relative to the individual, but still tied to universe.

 

[Floandgary]

KISS,,,, Time, no matter how we clock it, (seconds minutes, hours, parsecs,,) is the concept we use to be sure our wines develop as is intended!! What else matters???

 

[Floandgary]

ticking away the moments
that make up a dull day
fritter and waste the hours
in an off-hand way

kicking around on a piece of ground
in your home town
waiting for someone or something
to show you the way

tired of lying in the sunshine
staying home to watch the rain
you are young and life is long
and there is time to kill today

and then the one day you find
ten years have got behind you
no one told you when to run
you missed the starting gun

(solo)

and you run and you run
to catch up with the sun
but it's sinking

racing around
to come up behind you again

the sun is the same
in a relative way
but you're older

shorter of breath
and one day closer to death

every year is getting shorter
never seem to find the time

plans that either come to naught
or half a page of scribbled lines

hanging on in quiet desperation
is the english way

the time is gone
the song is over
thought i'd something more to say

home
home again
i like to be here
when i can

when i come home
cold and tired
it's good to warm my bones
beside the fire

far away
across the field
tolling on the iron bell
calls the faithful to their knees
to hear the softly spoken magic spell...

Better with something a bit more leafy than wine, but wine will do.

timeless!!

 

[wineforfun]

When was that beginning? If you say the big bang then how did the material for the big bang get there? I don't buy into the thought that something can be created from nothing. It is the old question why is there something rather than nothing. My mind just tells me even if you could go back to the beginning of time, "something" had to be here before that.

Exactly. Very well said.

Something or someone started all of this.
I truly believe it is way above anything we can comprehend in our "human" world. We try to explain everything with physics, logic, science, etc., and that only explains things the way we were taught or as we know it in "our" world.

 

[Rocky]

"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." - Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

 

[JohnT]

We need to stay off the "let's talk religion" path. Let us just assume that we are here regardless of the cause. (My Belated Birthday Present to Julie)


James brings up a great point.

Of all of our perceptions on that which is real (temperature or the weight of an object, for example), our perceptions seem to be much more constant that that of time. A heavy object always seems heavy, a hot cup of coffee always seems hot, but time is a different story ...

Remember how long it took for the end of the school-year to arrive or Christmas to arrive? How long is 5 minutes when you are listening to Rap as opposed to having an interesting conversation with a friend. The old saying "time flies when you are having fun" seems to be much more meaningful that one would expect.


This Idea of "time flies" really does lend credit to the idea that time is not real and is only a perception of the mind.

On the other hand, how could a person's rate of travel affect one's perception in a predictable manor?