What On Earth Is Time? Can you explain it to me?

[freenrg 0]

Disclaimer I looked for a "Science" only forum, but could not find one. The question was meant to be scientific, but that's Ok, because the topic might become spiritual anyway.

 

QUESTION

Can you explain what time is?

 

Now I am going to make it more difficult by throwing some easy answers, so that you cannot use them

 

- "Time is that which passes (all the time)"

- "Time is what clocks measure"

- "Time is the union of past, present and future"

- "Time is part of space-time."

 

We all somehow, intimately "know" what time is. Our lives take place in time. We feel it passing, we use it, we waste it. We plan over it, but what is it?

Can you think of any answer at all that really helps us understand what time is?

[freenrg 0]

Duh! I just saw there is a "Science and Nature" forum on xisT-O-Rama. Sorry about that, I am still a newbie.

Edited May 7, 2009 by freenrg (see edit history)

[webishqiptar 0]

Time is a sequence of units used to measure things, compare events and intervals between them. As of physics time is classified as a fundamental quantity. Time has been a matter for such fields as Religion, Science and Philosophy.

 

One unit such as the second is defined as a standard for cyclical events such as the passage of swinging pendulum.

In physics space time is a mathematical model that combines space and time into one continuum.

Time traveling is a concept of moving between different moments in time, analogue to moving from one point to another point of space. That means moving from present to past or future.

 

You have read some concepts taken from the web.

[freenrg 0]

Time is a sequence of units used to measure things, compare events and intervals between them. As of physics time is classified as a fundamental quantity. Time has been a matter for such fields as Religion, Science and Philosophy.

 

One unit such as the second is defined as a standard for cyclical events such as the passage of swinging pendulum.

In physics space time is a mathematical model that combines space and time into one continuum.

Time traveling is a concept of moving between different moments in time, analogue to moving from one point to another point of space. That means moving from present to past or future.

 

You have read some concepts taken from the web.

OK, thank you webishqiptar, but I still do not understand what it is. Honestly.

What is this thing we are splitting into units called seconds?

What is a second anyway?

 

And why is it passing?

[rvalkass 5]

Time is just a concept. It was originally created by splitting up the solar day (from sunrise to noon) into equal parts. Then some smart guy decided to come up with a more precise definition: a second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of microwave radiation of a particular frequency (related to the two lowest energy levels of a caesium-133 atom) measured at absolute zero and corrected for gravitational effects.As for providing a more general definition of time, that's a lot more difficult to do convincingly, so I will try my best a little later on

[buxgoddess 1]

TIME - True Information Measured Endlessly.It just is something that is omnipresent and is absolutely not the same for all. We say that the clock ticks the same and all time is the same - scientifically. But spiritually, Time is absolutely always different for every being. The act and result always differs even if the act took place exactly at the same time.The other thing that needs to be understood for better understanding time is SPACE. As time and space runs parallel, oblique to each other. As if two right planes in three dimensions. For example say we do something now in a part of the world and at that exact moment in a different part of the world or universe the same thing is done, the outcome differs immensely, just because they differ in space, different locations.Weaving into it is the concept of forces, the forces we are not able to understand or are partially understandable in the domains of both science and spirituality. We some believe in horoscope while other only believe on facts, but the forces always show their strength and are far more, unmeasurable times stronger than the human capacity.

[freenrg 0]

Time is just a concept. It was originally created by splitting up the solar day (from sunrise to noon) into equal parts. Then some smart guy decided to come up with a more precise definition: a second is the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of microwave radiation of a particular frequency (related to the two lowest energy levels of a caesium-133 atom) measured at absolute zero and corrected for gravitational effects.

 

As for providing a more general definition of time, that's a lot more difficult to do convincingly, so I will try my best a little later on

Thanks rvalkass. From your last sentence I think you are getting the point of what I am asking. Actually, I am looking for an explanation, not a definition, but a good general definition may serve as an explanation.

 

The definition of a second is interesting. A second is defined as the time that something takes. So, if in a previous post, somebody said "time is a sequence of seconds", we would have a circular definition: "time is a sequence of (periods of time that something takes)".

Edited May 7, 2009 by freenrg (see edit history)

[rvalkass 5]

The definition of a second is interesting. A second is defined as the time that something takes. So, if in a previous post, somebody said "time is a sequence of seconds", we would have a circular definition: "time is a sequence of (periods of time that something takes)".

The same problem occurs with length. What is length? Well it's the distance from point A to point B. That defines a distance as a distance - a pointless definition.

 

However, my Physics work reveals a solution. Time is a 'fundamental unit' - it is indivisible. You can't define time in terms of anything else. You can quantify it, use it to measure things, but you can't split it up and explain it. There are seven of these units at the moment: kilogram (mass), second (time), Kelvin (temperature), mole (amount of substance), metre (length), Ampere (electrical current) and candela (luminous intensity). None of these can be defined in any other way.

[freenrg 0]

[...]Time is a 'fundamental unit' - it is indivisible. You can't define time in terms of anything else. You can quantify it, use it to measure things, but you can't split it up and explain it. [...]

It cannot be explained!

So the scientists have tried but they cannot. Maybe we will need to look somewhere else, as science or the dictionaries are not helping much. It is good I did not start this topic in the Science and Nature forum.

 

OK. Let us see...

What do philosophers and the sages say about this?

What about the mystics?

 

Any meditators out there has had any insight into the nature of time?

I meditate but I have to admit I have no clue.

 

The great zen master Dogen Zenji said that we are time. He also said that in reality all things happen at once. This just puzzles me, but I guess zen masters say things like that just to get us out of our conventional thinking.

 

Any of you have had an experience like that or other involving time while meditating?

 

TIME - True Information Measured Endlessly.

It just is something that is omnipresent and is absolutely not the same for all. We say that the clock ticks the same and all time is the same - scientifically. But spiritually, Time is absolutely always different for every being. The act and result always differs even if the act took place exactly at the same time.

The other thing that needs to be understood for better understanding time is SPACE. As time and space runs parallel, oblique to each other. As if two right planes in three dimensions.

For example say we do something now in a part of the world and at that exact moment in a different part of the world or universe the same thing is done, the outcome differs immensely, just because they differ in space, different locations.

Weaving into it is the concept of forces, the forces we are not able to understand or are partially understandable in the domains of both science and spirituality. We some believe in horoscope while other only believe on facts, but the forces always show their strength and are far more, unmeasurable times stronger than the human capacity.

Hi buxgodess,

You lost me there. You seem to have some insight that I do not, but I cannot understand what you wrote. Do you think you could put it in simpler words?

[buherath 0]

Time is just a hypothetical quantity. It was created by man to understand and measure the rate of the changing of the environment around him.

 

The earth does not revolve around the sun in one year, but the period taken for the earth to complete one revolution around the sun is called one year. Like wise one single day is when the earth revolves around it's own axis once completely.

 

The world around us always change. Even we human beings, beasts, trees and plants, even rock, soil, space and air and everything else change. for man to understand these changes and to measure their rates of changing, with evolution man created a hypothesis or theory (not sure what is right) called time. They named things that happened always as a different quantity.

 

For examples, a complete single revolution of the earth around the sun was called a year. The occurring of a full moon was named a month and the rising of the sun was named a day. Then this day was further sub divided in to hours, minutes and second for man's convenience.

 

Therefore one cannot truly grasp the subtle meaning behind time, because it isn't something which is really there. It is simply man made.

 

Of course this is what I think of Time.

[freenrg 0]

Time is just a hypothetical quantity. It was created by man to understand and measure the rate of the changing of the environment around him.

 

The earth does not revolve around the sun in one year, but the period taken for the earth to complete one revolution around the sun is called one year. Like wise one single day is when the earth revolves around it's own axis once completely.

 

The world around us always change. Even we human beings, beasts, trees and plants, even rock, soil, space and air and everything else change. for man to understand these changes and to measure their rates of changing, with evolution man created a hypothesis or theory (not sure what is right) called time. They named things that happened always as a different quantity.

 

For examples, a complete single revolution of the earth around the sun was called a year. The occurring of a full moon was named a month and the rising of the sun was named a day. Then this day was further sub divided in to hours, minutes and second for man's convenience.

 

Therefore one cannot truly grasp the subtle meaning behind time, because it isn't something which is really there. It is simply man made.

 

Of course this is what I think of Time.

So time does not really exist and it is just a concept? That is interesting. That is what some of the greatest zen masters, like Dogen Zenji, said.

 

I think you have an interesting insight, but what makes you think or feel that way?

 

I have this pervasive feeling that time exists, but at the same I am puzzled by its very existence. Just the fact that time exists is a little perplexing to me. I know some of you may think, this guy is really weird, but hey, that is what I think and I am willing to take the risk on Xisto because there are an unusual number of open minded people around here, and I cannot find people to talk about these things in my physical neighborhood.

Edited May 16, 2009 by freenrg (see edit history)

[buherath 0]

Well That is just what I think about time. Well, there are 7 quantities in the world where you cannot give a definite definition without relating other quantities.
Time is one of them. I cannot really remember the others or does not even know whether there are actually 7 of them. I remember one of my tuition masters saying something like that once.

Well, if someone asks "what is time?" it is quite hard to give a definite answer. Some believe that Time is the 4th dimension. But I don't see how it can be a dimension.

Have you heard about "dark matter"? It is said that dark matter exists in out of space. Some believe that time has something to do with dark matter. But I think none has seen dark matter so far.

Time is just a hypothetical quantity. It was created by man to understand and measure the rate of the changing of the environment around him.

But we can give the above definition to time based on its usage to us.

This is just what a 17 year old kid sitting in front of a computer in Sri Lanka thinks about time. :XD:

[freenrg 0]

Well That is just what I think about time. Well, there are 7 quantities in the world where you cannot give a definite definition without relating other quantities.

Time is one of them. I cannot really remember the others or does not even know whether there are actually 7 of them. I remember one of my tuition masters saying something like that once.

 

Well, if someone asks "what is time?" it is quite hard to give a definite answer. Some believe that Time is the 4th dimension. But I don't see how it can be a dimension.

 

Have you heard about "dark matter"? It is said that dark matter exists in out of space. Some believe that time has something to do with dark matter. But I think none has seen dark matter so far.

 

Time is just a hypothetical quantity. It was created by man to understand and measure the rate of the changing of the environment around him.

But we can give the above definition to time based on its usage to us.

 

This is just what a 17 year old kid sitting in front of a computer in Sri Lanka thinks about time. :XD:

You are right that it is hard to give a definite answer. This is one topic where anything you say can be doubted or disputed.

 

This is how I imagine time as the 4th dimension: Think of your room as it was 10 minutes ago. Picture it in your mind in 3D. Then picture it as it was 9min 59 seconds ago. Keep both images in mind, only the second is slightly displaced 1 centimeter from the first towards the right. Repeat this with 9min 58 s, 9min 57 sec, and so on... imagine all these 3D images of your room coexisting with smalls displacements in space.

 

This way of imagining time as a fourth dimension is actually a bit misleading because the images are displaced in space, which is incorrect, but it does help me thing about what this means.

 

A more accurate way to picture time as a dimension is the following:

 

First, imagine the world is 2D. How? OK, imagine your computer screen. Your computer screen is a 2D slice in space. That should be easy because it is in front of you right now . Take the image that was on your screen at 12:00 and keep it on your mind in 3D. It should look like a very thin film with the image on it, and you should be able to rotate it in your mind. When you look at it from the side you cannot see the image of course. Then take what was on the screen at 12:01 and put it on a film in your mind and attach it right on top of the first film. Repeat this process until you have a nice cube of SCREEN-TIME from 12:00 to 13:00 for example. Imagine the block is semi transparent. If for example a circle on your screen does not move for the whole hour you should be able to see it as a cylinder in your cube of SCREEN-TIME.

 

If you find it difficult to imagine it is a bit like this: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Only what I am talking about is a solid block with images that often change very slightly from one instant to the next.

 

More on dark matter in a different post !

[Diffusr 0]

I will give my understanding of what time is.

First of all we percieve time as something that is "passing". This implies it has a beginning and an end. We liken our view of time as a train starting from its station and heading on to its destination.

Of course this is very simplistic but it is how we have been taught or programmed to view time. Also it is seen as som,ething that "runs out". All those movies where the hero is frantically trying to diffuse a ticking time bomb, snipping the right wire with less than a second to certain death, serve to reinforce our programme that time is external and finite.

Now I will shatter that illusion once and for all.

Time does not exist.

I know that statement sounds like some drug-induced vision brought forth by a 19 year old hippy and some strong lysergic dimethyltryptamine but hear me out.

Everything you know, right now, about all of existance and the universe and life death god jesus big bang nuclearfusion human soul gravity magnetism electricity history culture music religion...you know everything. only exists as neural impulses, chemical reactions and electronic signals inside your brain.

You "believe" that your brain interprets the outside world through your eyes, nose and other senses, so this is your experience.

I said that time that time does not exist...here's my theory.

There is only actually one single moment - guess what that is - NOW! It is NOW. Now is all that actually exists. Energy also exists within this NOW. Energy is dynamic and causes change on multi dimensional levels. But NOW is ever-present.

Time does not actually "pass". It is NOW that constantly changes, or appears to change thus giving the illusion of time passing.

Spend time time thinking about htis and you will see things much more clearly. In order for your brain to interpret the passing of time (which we now know is an illusion) the chemicals and electrical pulses in your brain also have to change in concert.

This is where the "matrix" of reality resides - in your brain.

It is possible to reverse the concept of our bran reacting to the outside world and actually choose what it is we want to experience. So be in the NOW, think, then watch your world change to match your thoughts.

[ASHISHRANJAN 0]

HI.........................want to about time, time is wati will make you understand that time is a very wonderful thing in this world for them who has every happines in their lifebut on the other hand it is a most bad thing for them who has nothing in their life. time is a dish which provide with both sour and seet taste. time is athat thing , that if your time is nice it can provide you aal happines of you life but on the other hand if it is bad it will provide you with all sad thing. are you happy with my information, time is very very different from other thing.