Comprehending Time

Netizen:

Let me confess at the outset that although I am familiar with the broader concept of wormholes, I do not know much about their physics.

The physics of wormholes is paradoxical and implies transmission of information at a speed greater than that of light. Hence the possibility of time travel. Many physicists are engaged in discovering ``a physically realistic example of how to beat the clock - and survive,`` (Paul Davies).

Allow me to quote from Paul Davies, ``So horrendous are the physical and philosophical problems with time travel that Stephen Hawking has proposed a `chronology protection hypothesis,` according to which nature will always find a way to prevent wormholes and other contrivances from permitting travel into the past. That way, remarks Hawking, the universe can be made safe for historians. There is no general agreement about whether chronology protection is valid, and if so whether it is contained in existing physics or requires something new. All the known examples of time travel have pathological features that would render them unphysical or unstable in practice. But without a general theorem to rule out all loopy spacetimes, there is always a chance that some clever researcher will come up with a physically realistic example of how to beat the clock - and survive.``

Mohammad Gill

Re: # 24

mr. gill

inspired by this article and curious about time-travel, i did some reading from the internet on this topic over the weekend.

``The physics of wormholes is paradoxical and implies transmission of information at a speed greater than that of light. Hence the possibility of time travel. ``

i don`t think we need to travel at a speed greater than light. wormholes would just reduce the linear distance between to distinct points in space by providing a ``tunnel`` or a ``bridge``, if i may.

but the problem is about reaching the speed of light because the mass would be too tremendous and the energy required to move it would be immenese. hence the technical difficulty.

regarding wormholes, even if they are found, we would need to find a way to stabilize it so that it remains open.

---

``That way, remarks Hawking, the universe can be made safe for historians. ``

regarding keeping the past safe for historians.

it has been discussed that based on heisenberg`s principle of uncertainity, there are too many probabilities for things to happen. may be there are ``parallel``: universes where all the probabilities are taking place. even if someone goes back to the past and kills his grandparents, that would happen in the parallel universe and hence won`t be able to distort history of this universe.

our civilisation has just barely scratched the surface of this science. may be there are other far more advanced civilisations in the universe who have already figured out a way to travel in time.

some say may be someone from the future is already with us and is altering the direction the world is moving in their favor!

Re: # 24

freethinker and others -- -- a quick question: if we assume some sort of a symmetry (yes even in time) then around t=0, i.e t=+0 and t=-0 say the two events should be similar and soo on.....which then would imply that on the other side of the biggest bang the universe is contracting (just as we are/were expanding). Would then mean that the biggest singular point is infact t=0 and that blackholes are just singular points in space (not time). Would sucha symmtery be possible/acceptable? What are its implications? And would it result in some thing along the lines of the chronology of events theorem davies is talking about?

I would agree with davies you need chronology - that is time has to have a direction - and you cannot alter the positions of points along this direction - other the likes of our religious and fundementalist firends would invoke djinns and arch-angels to change what they do not like!

netizen,

.......... while mr gill is pondering this question, let me assure you that whie i am not sure about intra-universe holes that would allow you to go back and prevent people like urstruly from being born, inter-universe wormholes do exist ......... just look around you - where do you think masadi came from ?.......... it is time we did something about shutting down these wormholes through which all kinds of worms, djinns and fairies are crawling into our universe .........

Re: # 23 by hamidm2 on September 9, 2006 5:07pm PT

Dear Hamid:

You ask {......... just look around you - where do you think masadi came from ?..........}

Uum...That is a very interesting question that my need somebody to do a dissertation on.

Respectfully submitted,

mr. gill:

you talk about time being unidirectional and irreversible.

what about when people tak about worm-holes(?) whereby a person could go back to the past or the unknown future.

any thoughts?

...... i don`t know much about science, but years ago i was able to slow down time and sometimes, when i felt like it, i could also speed it up ........... it was quite simple really - all you had to do was smoke a couple of reefers of good chitrali peeli pati and you could bring the world to a grinding halt ...... one day it took me fifty hours to drive the six or seven miles from charing cross to fortress stadium at thirty miles an hour - it was a a frightening experience ......... i thought i`d never get there !

........ to speed up time all you had to do was take some pink pills - if you took one before dinner it would be time for breakfast in less than half an hour ......... time has some strange properties: i discovered that, depending on the quality of chitrali and the potency of pink pills it wasn`t really linear and followed a logrithmic scale - simply amazing !

Re: # 21 by hamidm2 on September 9, 2006 1:46pm PT

Dear Hamid:

{...... i don`t know much about science, but years ago i was able to slow down time and sometimes, when i felt like it, i could also speed it up ...........}

That is an interesting way of spending your time. When interacting with masadi, what happens to your methodologies of spending time?

Do you use {a couple of reefers of good chitrali peeli pati} or do you {take some pink pills}? Please enlighten us.

Respectfully submitted,

It is necessary to separate religious and literary rigmarole from a defensible and rational definition of time. Time does not exist. It is simply a device to explain the occurrence of events in the universe.
The more difficult and realistic mode of explanation of the events in the universe is in terms of energy and quasi-static equilibria. Due to various physical interactions between various relatively isolated quasi-equilibria the universe locally as well as as a whole is a dynamical system.
If we carry out an intensive discussion of the interactions we can explain the various events in the universe, however, the system is very much simplified if we assume the various potentials of action in the universe as implicit functions of time. The scientists are always interested in a simple explanation.
An interactive analysis of the local quasi equilibria with time as the implicit - BUT ASSUMED _ independent varable lead s to the present day physics.

No need to worry about the historians, mesiahs and literary figures!

``do you write any essays...?`` (Dr. Sohail)

among others published three original papers in Science magazine -- not essays -- have been a has-been -- (too tired to write anything original except reactive posts) -- now turned a reactionary....;)

Re: # 18

dear nasah....you will make the word `reactionary`...very respectable...

aik sheyr...about TIME....

waqt ik ber-e-baykaran khalid

har mulaqaat ik jazeera hay

sincerely sohail

including the mysterious

---

...

---

drsohail:

There are many metaphysical descriptions of time. Iqbal also believed (metaphysically) that `Time is God.` Iqbal wrote (The Reconstruction…, p.73), “The problem of time has always drawn attention of Muslim thinkers and mystics. This seems to be due partly to the fact that, according to the Quran, the alternation of day and night is one of the greatest signs of God, and partly to the Prophet’s identification of God with ‘Dahr’ (time) {Surah 76} in a well-known tradition…”

The tradition that he referred to states, “Don’t speak ill of time because time is God.” I have read this Hadith from Iqbal’s quotation but I cannot pinpoint it because I have lost the reference.

However, I am more interested in physical time than metaphysical.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on time at Chowk.

Mohammad Gill

May be on the other side of Big Bang (t=+0) to (+1) -- is (hiding the Time in Reverse (t=-0) to contracting (-1) that is the Fraction of I .... in the Einstein universe of -- no beginning and no end -- expanding Time of current universe may be balanced by the contracting Time before the Big Bang -- simultaneously or in a parallel universe...:)

Free Thinker you are one of the best things -- including Dost-mitter, Dr Sohail, Hamidm -- that has/have happened to Chowk......:)

Re: # 11

dear nasah...thanks for your generous thoughts. readers like you keep me inspired.

socrates, like freud, believed that truth is born from the womb of a genuine dialogue....

sincerely sohail

ps...do you write any essays...?

Re: # 11
nasah ;-()