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
We would all be better off without clocks. There are too many people racing thru their lives because they don't seem to have enough time.
Are you sure we aren't falling through time without benefit of friction to slow us down?
Nice read: :-)
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/28mar_gamma.htm
What is Time? It's a "news" magazine for people with little curiosity and short attention spans. As for the pseudo-scientific discussion in the article, I've seen deeper philosophical discourse in dorm lobbies of public universities, where the ultimate question was one of changing bong water.
Is 7:40 PM. Is okay?
Time is the means by which matter expresses itself.
What is time?
You mean right now?
Hey...I had that exact same book when I was younger. I'm sure if I dug around some, I'd find it. My favorite was the Rock Candy experiment...yep, I tried that one very frequently!
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Like a roll of toilet paper...The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes..!
I've always seen time as the movement of energy from a higher to a lower state, in other words, the decay of energy into entropy, the descent of Order into Chaos. Think Second Law of Thermodynamics.
It has been observed that the passing of joints affects time, as well.
[The Twilight Zone theme]
Is certainly not on the second moon of the third planet circling Luyten 726-8A! You are off by at least 41 micro-kelms!!!
This made me laugh out loud! LOL!!
lol..cool
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