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
Two reasons:
1) The reporter isn't the Helsinki physicist, and probably doesn't realize the theory is being misrepresented
2) Limitations of the vernacular. Same limitations that prevent people from understanding the big bang theory in the first place. Some of us just can't extricate the notion of linear infinite time. Not that they are wrong in their view that time is infinite, but they ARE wrong in thinking it describes the big bang theory.
But fortunately the context of the article is clear with the statement:
"Before the Big Bang, there was no space or time."
Even though, as I said, the word "before", which implicitly presumes an existence of time, is therefore an inaccurate choice for describing an absence of time.
Yeah yeah yeah. I noticed it, but what could I do? Misquote the article? (I actually did change it in my comment).
I hear that Hans Koller made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.
> Gilbert and Sullivan.
:-)
G & S are timeless.
Great graphic!
When Fredric was a little lad.....
He proved so brave and daring.....
His father thought he'd apprentice him
to some career sea fairing.....
And the big bang became god, and he/she came down to earth to save us from our "original" sins?
> When Fredric was a little lad.....
Pirates, sung by Ruth, right? Now there was a guy lost in time...who wouldn't get out of his apprenticeship till his 21st birthday in Nineteen Forty!
I enjoyed that movie.
Bud: "It is a theory of everything."
Lou: "Yeah? Well what came before it then?"
Bud: "Nothing. That is what is meant by 'EVERYTHING'."
If there was no "before the big bang" where does the 'extremely tiny dot" come from?
The only thing these scientists know for certain, is that they don't know anything for certain...
As to the question of before the Big Band, there were itinerant musicians who walked around snapping their fingers, keeping time.
But there was nothing before that.
a previous "big crunch"?
This was the subject of a term paper we had to write in college physics class. I came to this same conclusion.
Time is a derivitive of motion.
If there is no motion, there is no such thing as time.
When between the Big Crunch and the Big Bang would time and motion cease to be?
Sometimes a song will trigger these memories. In this case, it was listening to "Living Thing" by Electric Light Orchestra. Suddenly an incident from 1977 popped into my brain and it was rather stunning to suddenly recall it all these years later.
There is a song from Pink Floyd about time that gets more and more haunting as I get older...
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