Time for a Change - The Instantaneous, Present and the Existence of Time by Peter Lynds

Thanks Peter,

You write, "as I explained in my essay, as long as one recognizes that instants, instantaneous magnitudes, space-time points etc, do not exist. . ."

Yes--but why do points not exist in spacetime?

I propose that the anwser to this is "because the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions at the rate of c, or dx4/dt=ic."

Instead of depicting matter as tiny, vibrating strings--something for which there is no proof for--why not admit the fact that the fourth dimension has nonlocal wavelike qualities, as attested to by both relativity and quantum mechanics?

Relativity relies on the photon being nonlocal, and so does quantum mechanics.

As contemplations on the photon lead Einstein to the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics that revolutionized our notions of space, time, and physical reality, this paper again turns towards the photon and Einstein's original works to shed light on time. Various phenomena in Einstein's 1905 papers can be united with a simple postulate representing an underlying physical reality from where time itself emerges--the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions at the rate of c.

Consider the emission of a photon in free space. One second later, the photon has equal probability of being found anywhere upon a sphere with a radius of 186,000 miles, as the velocity of light is 186,000 miles/second. If we covered the surface of said sphere with detectors, one, and only one detector, would detect the photon. Although having traveled 186,000 miles through space, the photon will not have aged one iota, for time stops at the speed of light. It will not have moved one iota in the fourth dimension. And there lies a clue to the reality that the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions. For how can a photon propagate

186,000 miles in the three spatial dimensions, and yet not budge an inch in the fourth dimension, unless that fourth dimension is moving right along with it, just as a wave moves right along with a surfer?

Consider two interacting photons that propagate in opposite directions, as in experiments inspired by Bell's Inequality and conducted by Aspect et al. One second later, each photon's polarization is measured at detectors separated by 372,000 miles. According to the laws of

quantum mechanics and numerous supporting experiments, the measurement at one detector instantaneously affects the measurement at the second detector. It is as if the photons are yet side-by-side during the measurement. This "spooky action-at-a-distance," as Einstein called it, is not so spooky in the context of a fourth expanding dimension, for although separated by 372,000 miles, the photons yet inhabit a common locality in the fourth dimension, as the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions, distributing locality at the rate of c. So it is that both quantum and relativistic phenomena are accounted for with the simple elegance of the postulate: the fourth dimension is expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions.

Ergo the fourth dimension has both nonlocal and wavelike properties, as it expands at the rate of c, setting both c (the velocity of light) and h (Planck's constant).

The expansion of the fourth dimension manifests itself as a spherically-symmetric probabilistic wavefront expanding at c--exactly the mechanism underlying the motion of the photon, which happens to be described by a spherically-symmetric probabilistic wavefront expanding at c by quantum mechanics. And relativity tells us that the photon remains in the exact same place in the foruth dimensions, so the fourth dimension must be a spherically-symmetric probabilistic wavefront expanding at c. Ergo the fourth dimension is expanding at c relative to the three spatial dimensions, as a spherically-symmetric wavefront with wavelength of the Planck length. Thus it is impossible to measure anything with absolute certainty, as space-time itself has a wavelike character.

The three spatial dimension are only ever known by measurement, and all measurements entail the propagation of energy, it is but mass that exists purely in the fourth expanding dimension, which quantizes it via the fact that only discreet wavelengths are allowed, as the wavelength of the fourth dimension is Planck's Length.

Please see the attached paper, which suggests that while space is bent by matter, the expansion of the fourth dimension remains an invariant. Could it be that space is not bent by mass, and that mass instead expels the fourth dimension, warping its expansion? Perhaps. Curved space would imply that time is curved by the same amount as the space, even if the expansion of the fourth dimension remained an invariant, as we only know time by space. Perhpas mass is where the expansion of the fourth dimension cannot penetrate, and thus rest mass represents a physical entity that is foreign from the fourth dimension, as well as an entity which the fourth dimension never penetrates.

Please see the attached paer.

Thanks & best,

Dr. EAttachment #1: 15_MOVING_DIMENSIONS_THEORY_EXAMINES_THE_GRAVITATIONAL_REDSHIFT_SLOWING_OF_CLOCKS.pdf

If this continuation will be truncated again, I would see this an indication of lacking arguments against my essay.

As well known, Oliver Heaviside, continued the function f(x>0) into the negative half-plane x

Dear Peter Lynds,

If something has any physical properties then it exists. Both the motion and time have physical properties. Therefore, we accept their existence. The time is created by the motion and depends on the motion. Therefore, in case of the discontinuance of any motion the time disappears. The problem arises, if we unreasonably expand number of physical properties of time. For example, in case of the gravitational radiation the time exists irrespective of a source of the gravitational field and has substantial character, in particular, contains energy. It is a mistake of the general theory of relativity and by the way not single.

Regards,

Robert Sadykov

The Theory of Time, Space and Gravitation

Dear Robert,

Thanks. Yes, I agree, although time has no physical properties. A clock naturally does, but as with all other natural process, the movement of its hands are just the result of the capability for motion in Nature. Time plays no role.

Best wishes

Peter

Dear Peter,

In order to avoid problems that may be due to use of certain symbols, I wrote the attached pdf file. I did not yet post at M286.

Regards,

EckardAttachment #1: 1_Microsoft_Word__How_do_negative_and_imaginary.pdf

Hello Peter,

You write, "Yes, I agree, although time has no physical properties. A clock naturally does, but as with all other natural process, the movement of its hands are just the result of the capability for motion in Nature. Time plays no role."

The movement of a clock's hands depends on the emission and propagation of photons. Whether in an unwinding copper clock spring or in an oscillating quartz crystal or osciallating computer circuit, a clock's rate relies on the emission and propagation of photons. All such clocks are fundamentally light clocks, which are streated in the attached paper in the context of MDT.

Photons are but matter that surfs the fourth expanding dimension. And as the expansion of the fourth dimension is an invariant that is independent of the velocity of the source or clock, the faster an object/clock moves, the slower the period of any clock. Simple algebra and geometry demonstrates this for photons in moving frames of reference--time is slowed equally in light clocks that depend on both transverse and/or lateral motion of photons relative to the inertial frame. And as all clocks are fundamentally light clocks, moving clocks run slow, due to the fact that the light is carried by a fourth dimension expanding relative to the three spatial dimensions.

So it is that nature is "capabale of motion" and time because motion and change are fundamentally woven into the fabric of spacetime with dx4/dt=ic--the fourth dimension is epxanidng relative to the three spatial dimensions at the rate of c.

All of relativity is derived from MDT, which also liberates us from the block universe while providing a common *physical* model for time and all its arrows and assymetries across all realms, as well as nonlocality and entanglement and Huygens' and Heisenbergs' principles.

dx4/dt=ic (underlying relativity) means the fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c.

xp-px = ih (underlying quantum mechanics) means the fourth dimension is expanding in units of the Planck Length.

Best,

Dr. E (The Real McCoy)Attachment #1: 18_MOVING_DIMENSIONS_THEORY_EXAMINES_THE_GRAVITATIONAL_REDSHIFT_SLOWING_OF_CLOCKS.pdf

Dear Peter

your definition

»Time enters mechanics as a measure of interval, relative to the clock completing the measurement"

I find extraordinary good.

yours amritAttachment #1: Time_is_what_is_measured_with_clocks_sorli.pdf

Dear Armit,

Thanks. In relation to that 2003 quote, I should note that it was before I properly realised that clocks only refer to themselves, hence the word "measurement".

Best wishes

Peter

PS: For if anyone is interested (and wasn't aware of it), there has been an interesting and forthright discussion about the existence of time, and then the block universe, on George Ellis' essay thread.

Dear Peter,

Yes, in contrast to Rovelli and many others, Ellis does not feel obliged to "explain" problems that arise from presumably flawed theory.

Would you agree that a clock can never measure future time but it always measures a timespan between a moment in the past and the actual moment when one reads it?

Please find attached part 2.

Best wishes,

EckardAttachment #1: 7_Microsoft_Word__How_do_part_2.pdf

Dear Eckard,

I wouldn't say that about George Ellis. I think it is petty clear that he is open to discussing any aspect of his theory.

In relation to your question, I don't think that the past, future, or moments exist.

Best wishes

Peter

For if it seems like I'm talking to ghosts in some of my replies above, it's because a number of comments by people seem to have just been removed by the moderator. The moderation seems a little bit hit and miss.

Dear Peter,

You say "it seems that Nature has wisely traded certainty for continuity".

In order to understand better your essay, can you please tell me:

1. What do you mean by "continuity"? Is it the same as in Topology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_(topology))? If not, can you provide a definition?

2. What do you mean by "uncertainty"? It is a real but unknown value? Can we know an interval containing the value, or a fuzzy set, or a probability distribution?

Best regards,

Cristi Stoica

Dear Cristi,

Thanks. In relation to continuity, just the regular meaning .i.e. continuous, the capability for motion and change etc.

"What do you mean by "uncertainty"?"

Certainty rather than uncertainty. If instants and instantaneous magnitudes existed, such magnitudes would be exactly determined and certain. If they did exist, however, one could also forget about any continuity; everything would be frozen. Moreover, and taking the case of motion as an example, because for something to be motion, its relative position has to be constantly changing and undetermined, a moving body cannot have a determined/instantaneous relative position. As such, and although relative position can naturally be measured/determined up to the limits of measurement, as far as Nature is concerned, one can say that that there is a trade off of exact or instantaneous relative position [certainty, but static and discontinuous], for movement [continuity/indeterminacy]. In relation to this trade off, the same can be said for all physical magnitudes. Note that this in unrelated to quantum uncertainty, except in relation to the general assumption that if it weren't for quantum considerations, physical magnitudes would be exactly determined. The non-existence of instantaneous magnitudes means that, even without quantum uncertainty, they wouldn't be exactly determined. Also note that this doesn't mean that instantaneous vales cease to be very useful. The point is that they are non-physical, so one must be careful about what infers about them. There are a number of problems, paradoxes and additional assumptions that can be shown to be the direct result of assuming that instants and instantaneous magnitudes actually exist.

Best wishes

Peter

Dear Peter,

Thank you for your answer. If you agree, I will ask for some clarifications.

1. Continuity.

A. According to your theory, is time continuous? If it is, by the regular meaning of continuity, time is a connected topological space. The same holds for space. Are space and time topological spaces?

B. Is "continuous motion" described by a continuous function f : Time - > Space, where Time and Space are topological spaces?

If the answer is "no", can you provide the correct definition of continuity in your theory?

2. Uncertainty.

You say: "The non-existence of instantaneous magnitudes means that, even without quantum uncertainty, they wouldn't be exactly determined." I understand that you infer "uncertainty" from non-existence.

A. But what is "certainty", according to you?

By saying that the physical quantities do not exist, without defining or postulating something else that looks like those quantities but satisfy also your own exigencies, you cut any chance for making Physics.

B. What can we put instead of the non-existent instantaneous magnitudes?

Intervals? Probabilities? Can we replace the instantaneous magnitudes with something well defined, but which is not instantaneous?

Please do not consider that I am too exigent with your ideas. I considered the two terms important, because your statement "it seems that Nature has wisely traded certainty for continuity" seems to contain the main implication of your ideas to the physical reality. This is why I asked you to define them.

If you don't define the concepts you use, nobody can contradict you.

Warm regards,

Cristi

Dear Cristi,

Thanks. While I'm happy to answer your questions, I do think that the answers to some of them should already be evident from reading my essay and this thread.

"According to your theory, is time continuous?"

According to my theory, time doesn't exist. Continuous motion does.

"Is "continuous motion" described by a continuous function f : Time - > Space, where Time and Space are topological spaces?"

Yes, that's one way of looking at it. In relation to gr, however, this is conditional on one recognizing that a point on the manifold (an "event") is non-instantaneous, as the t, x, y and z coordinates cannot be either.

"You say: "The non-existence of instantaneous magnitudes means that, even without quantum uncertainty, they wouldn't be exactly determined." I understand that you infer "uncertainty" from non-existence."

I prefer the word "indeterminacy", which, yes, I infer from the non-existence of instantaneous magnitudes, and as such, the existence of continuity and change.

"But what is "certainty", according to you?"

In this context, an exactly determined (objectively) or instantaneous magnitude.

"By saying that the physical quantities do not exist, without defining or postulating something else that looks like those quantities but satisfy also your own exigencies, you cut any chance for making Physics."

I'm saying that instantaneous quantities don't exist, not that physical quantities in general do not exist or that they cannot be determined by measurement.

"Can we replace the instantaneous magnitudes with something well defined, but which is not instantaneous?"

No, I don't think so, but again, I'm not saying that instantaneous values are not valuable in physics. The point is that they are non-physical, so must be careful about what infers about them. Zeno's paradoxes, the problem of motion and change not being seen to be compatible with gr, the idea of time and space being quantized, and even, it can be argued, the assumption of the existence of time, space, and space-time, can all be shown to result from assuming that instants (and spatial points) and instantaneous magnitudes actually exist.

In relation to finding fault with my work, its possible validity is completely reducible to and hinges upon the simple question of whether a body in relative motion has a determined or instantaneous relative position. If someone wants to negate my conclusions, I think this is where to try to chop.

Best wishes

Peter

Dear Peter,

1. How is it possible that continuous motion exists and is described by "a continuous function f : Time - > Space, where Time and Space are topological spaces", but in the same time, Time does not exist? Isn't this a contradiction?

2. You said: "If a moving object could be said to have a determined position relative to something else at an instant, as is the very nature of this ethereal notion - a static "snap-shot" of a physical process - the object would necessarily be frozen still at that instant and could not be in motion at all."

Does the "frozenness" really follow logically from the assumption of a determined position at an instant? If so, why did you need to postulate your main claim: "We begin by considering the simple and innocuous postulate: "there is not a precise static instant in time underlying a dynamical physical process.""?

What is the reference frame in which the object would be frozen? What is frozen in one reference frame, in another appears to move.

3. You say: "I'm saying that instantaneous quantities don't exist, not that physical quantities in general do not exist or that they cannot be determined by measurement.". What is the difference between "physical quantities" and "instantaneous quantities"? I cannot think at a physical quantity which is not instantaneous. Even the physical constants arise as instantaneous quantities which don't change in time.

Best regards,

Cristi

Dear Cristi,

Thanks. To answer your first question, again, as far as Nature is concerned, I don't think that topological spaces, the manifold's points, "instantaneous" events etc, exist either.

"Does the "frozenness" really follow logically from the assumption of a determined position at an instant?"

Through the derivation of the rest of physics through motion (changing relative position), it can be seen to, and I think this is the most fundamental, but it can also be seen by considering the impossibility of math to represent something that is constantly changing (without freezing it), or by thinking about what the existence of instants and instantaneous magnitudes would actually entail and mean for Nature and continuity. Then we have problems and paradoxes such as Zeno's which directly result from assuming the existence of the instantaneous, while, intuitively, I think one can also just look around, and note that the idea of Nature being frozen/determined at an instant, or at an instantaneous "now", seems to be faulty, as Nature seems to be dynamic.

"What is the reference frame in which the object would be frozen? What is frozen in one reference frame, in another appears to move."

Any reference frame in which a moving body is assumed to have a determined relative position (this also naturally applies to the other reference frame you mentioned). Of course, this statement is contradictory, as, if it is assumed to have a determined relative position, the body could not actually be in relative motion.

"What is the difference between "physical quantities" and "instantaneous quantities"? I cannot think at a physical quantity which is not instantaneous."

All empirically based values actually represent intervals, not instantaneous ones. For example, a distance value of 1m, represents the distance interval of 1 and 1.9999...m, and not an instantaneous value. Moreover, and taking motion as an example, one can naturally (potentially) measure the position of a moving body up to the limits of possible measurement as defined by the uncertainty principle. In relation to position, we can then say the body is somewhere within some time and space interval (as represented by a clock and meter). A similar thing can naturally be said for all physical magnitudes, such as momenta, energy etc.

"Even the physical constants arise as instantaneous quantities which don't change in time."

That's not the case, as the existence of constants such as the speed of light is completely indifferent to the instantaneous. That is, while constants are unchanging, this has nothing to do with instants/the instantaneous.

Best wishes

Peter

Dear Peter,

Thank you for your time.

You say: "I don't think that topological spaces, the manifold's points, "instantaneous" events etc, exist either."

This contradicts the usual notion of continuity, which is based on topological spaces. You accept continuity: "time doesn't exist. Continuous motion does.". In order to use another type of continuity, which is not based on topological spaces, you have to define it. When I asked you to define this notion of, let's say, "continuity without continuum", you said:

"In relation to continuity, just the regular meaning .i.e. continuous, the capability for motion and change etc."

Here is a contradiction: the regular meaning of continuity is based on topological spaces, whose existence you deny.

You start from an undefined notion of continuity, and then infer from it the "indeterminacy", non-existence of "instantaneous", and non-existence of "instantaneous quantities". You can't infer from something which is not defined.

Good luck,

Cristi

Dear Cristi,

Thanks. I don't think there is anything undefined about my use of the word continuity (the regular meaning), as the definition in my essay, to you just above, and a dictionary would attest! Moreover, if correctly interpreted, I very much do think that continuous motion is described by gr. This is actually the main thing that places our views at odds, as your interpretation of gr and the block universe explicitly denies that motion and continuity is possible! Lastly, my work starts from considering the nature of instants, limits, relative position etc.

Best wishes

Peter