Posted on 04/16/2005 4:19:09 PM PDT by beavus
The concept of time is self-evident. An hour consists of a certain number of minutes, a day of hours and a year of days. But we rarely think about the fundamental nature of time.
Time is passing non-stop, and we follow it with clocks and calendars. Yet we cannot study it with a microscope or experiment with it. And it still keeps passing. We just cannot say what exactly happens when time passes.
Time is represented through change, such as the circular motion of the moon around the earth. The passing of time is indeed closely connected to the concept of space.
According to the general theory of relativity, space, or the universe, emerged in the Big Bang some 13.7 billion years ago. Before that, all matter was packed into an extremely tiny dot. That dot also contained the matter that later came to be the sun, the earth and the moon – the heavenly bodies that tell us about the passing of time.
Before the Big Band, there was no space or time.
“In the theory of relativity, the concept of time begins with the Big Bang the same way as parallels of latitude begin at the North Pole. You cannot go further north than the North Pole,” says Kari Enqvist, Professor of Cosmology.
One of the most peculiar qualities of time is the fact that it is measured by motion and it also becomes evident through motion.
According to the general theory of relativity, the development of space may result in the collapse of the universe. All matter would shrink into a tiny dot again, which would end the concept of time as we know it.
“Latest observations, however, do not support the idea of collapse, rather inter-galactic distances grow at a rapid pace,” Enqvist says.
If you want to know more about the topic, visit Kari Enqvist’s website at http://www.physics.helsinki.fi/~enqvist/.
Text: Simo Salmela Picture: ESO www.helsinki.fi/digitalcommunications
Translation: Valtasana Oy
A crucial point lost on many who try to criticize big bang theories. Notice here that the word "before" loses its usual meaning, so that a more accurate statement of the theory would be, "There was no 'before the big bang'." That is, in the simplest version of the theory all existence, all that is true, is within the time frame of the big bang. This is because the time frame encompasses the universe, which is everything including time. Any thought of something outside the expanding universe is a fiction, or at best a pure speculation.
Some critics unwittingly presume a "before the big bang" exists when they levy their criticism of it. For instance, the question, "What came before the big bang?" entails such a misunderstanding of the basic theory.
But with a Big Band, time really drags. It's just not my thing, sorry.
Tommy Dorsey fan? Or Jimmy?
But there was rhythm!
If there's no "before," why does the author say "before"?
> Before the Big Band, there was no space or time.
Yes but there were Fats Waller and Gershwin and Paul Whiteman and a host of others.
Whatever time is, I certainly don,t have enough of it.
And why, pray tell, does the passing of it affect the joints?!
You bet there was rhythm. It was taught me by Melody, a buxom young lass who enjoyed Glenn Miller as much as Aerosmith.
We may not know what time is, but that doesn't stop us
from manipulating it.
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Gilbert and Sullivan.
The question can only be answered by lawyers. Seems that is all they talk about.
http://einstein.stanford.edu/
http://cassfos02.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/Cosmology.html
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm
:-)
Go rent the movie...What the "bleep" do we know? All your answers are in there!
So there was a time when there was no time. The concept is so everyday and trivial that it is impossible to misunderstand. Why, it happens every day, sometimes even more frequently.
"What is time?"
Ask Dr. Who
Time. We don't know if we pass though it, or if it passes through us. The only thing we know for sure is the older we get, the faster it goes.
Our perception of time varies, since time passes fast when you're having fun and drags when you're not. And doesn't gravity affect time, too?
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