Amrit,
The word time has several parts to its customary meaning. One of the parts of the meaning of time is the concept of a period of time. A time period has a beginning point, an end point, and a continuation that exists from the beginning point to the end point. When a motion travels through a distance, it generates such a time period. The actual beginning of an entity's motion is the beginning point of a natural time period and the end of its motion is the end point of the time period. The continuation of the time period's existence runs from its beginning point to its end point. If a photon moves in space its motion by definition generates a time period. If the photon travels at a velocity of C for about 186,000 miles, the time period that it generates is about 1 second. The only way that a motion could occur without generating a time period would be if it had an infinitely high velocity. All light photons travel at a finite velocity called C and, therefore, they create time periods as they travel. The photon is not moving in time. Its motion creates time (a time period). Order of occurrence is another part of the definition of time. At any point (except the first and last points) while a motion is creating a time period by traveling through a distance, three basic order of occurrence divisions exist. They are: the past (all numeric order points that the motion has traveled through (t1... tx-1) where x = the present existing order of occurrence point (tx): the present (the present existing order of occurrence point (tx)): and the future (all order of occurrence points that will exist, but, have not yet existed (tx+1...tn) as the motion travels through its distance). Within each of these divisions there may be many order of appearance points. It only takes two order of appearance points (one in the past and one in the present) to create time by this part of the definition of time. Anytime a motion exists, it creates order of appearance points as it travels from one point to the next in its travel through its distance. Order of appearance is another part of the definition of time, so anytime an entity changes position from one point in space to another point in space both a time period and an order of position time change is generated by the motion of the entity as it travels through its distance from one point to another point in space. It should be noted that even a change of position in space that occurs at an infinite velocity (immediate transfer) would create an order of appearance time change because it would have existed in its first position before it transferred to its second position. These created time effects are basically local in effect and only directly apply to the specific motion that generates them. It is possible to combine and/or compare the time effects from more than one motion to get a larger effective time structure. The ultimate combination (not possible for us) would be to combine the time effects of all motions to get the true global time perspective. Note that this would just give one a global view of all of the time effects that are generated by all of the motions in existence including the results of their interactions. There is no overall time dimension or effect that causes the individual time effects. It is the combination of all of the individual time effects that gives the appearance of an overall time dimension or effect. As John Merryman might say, time is a bottom up process not a top down process.
There is no need for a fourth dimension to explain time. We agree on that. I don't see any need for a fourth dimension to explain motion or change of position in space either. Motion is the fundamental entity that operates in space. All other entities such as energy photons and matter particles are composed of various motions that give them their specific properties. It is not possible for motion to run in timeless space because motion through distance (space) generates time periods and order of appearance time effects.
I do see the need for a fourth dimension and also a fifth dimension, but they are needed to explain the structure of energy photons and matter particles among other things not for the generation of time. Time periods and order of appearance time effects are results of motions or spatial position changes, so the only way that universal space could be timeless would be if it contained no motion (was empty).
Time is a relationship between space (distance) and motion (change of position). It shows the combined effect of a specific amount of distance with a specific amount (amplitude, rate, or velocity) of motion. Because motion is a multi-amplitude structure, you cannot get the full equivalent result by looking only at space. You must also take into consideration the amount of motion that a given motion possesses (its motion amplitude). This relationship T=D/M (where T=time period or duration, D=distance traveled, and M=motion amplitude) is called a time period and exists anytime a motion travels through (changes position in) space. Because all that is needed to create time periods and order of appearance time effects is motion or change of position in space, they can occur in one-dimensional space as a motion travels along its dimensional line.
The Planck time (5,39124 x 10 -44s) shows that time periods and numeric order of appearance time effects work all the way down to the quantum level.
Remember that numeric order of material change is a part of the definition of time. There are those who say that the physical order of appearance can be different for observers in different frames of reference (different local perspectives). We agree that one cannot travel backward in time or forward either except through the normal progression of motions. The current position of all motions in space, their current directions, and their current motion amplitudes is all that actually exists. When a motion changes its position in space, it no longer exists in its previous position, but now exists in its current new position. Its previous position is now only a part of its past. This past does not really exist except possibly in the form of stored records of its previous existence. You cannot go back to something that doesn't exist. The future also does not exist because it is just the conditions of motions in the motion continuum at some point after they have continued in their paths and interactions from their current present conditions until they finally generate the projected future motion conditions. They have not yet played out in that way to reach those future conditions, so there is nothing there to go to either. A good way to look at it is that the past is composed of all of the motion conditions in the motion continuum that have existed from the beginning of motion to the present existing motion conditions, but no longer exist because they have been replaced by later conditions. The present is the current existing motion conditions. The future is all of the motion conditions that will exist in the motion continuum after present motions continue on their paths and through their interactions to generate them, but do not yet exist because the motions in the continuum have not yet arrived to those conditions.
I am not currently covering gravity effects.
Any motion (change of position) has a duration unless it is traveling at infinite velocity.
It seems that you are ignoring the time periods (durations) that are produced by motions traveling through distances (changes in spatial position). You are not considering order of appearance to be a time effect when it is. You hold onto the fourth time dimension by just trying to convert it to a spatial dimension without giving a good reason why it is needed at all if a time dimension is not needed. Except for these things we are in pretty close agreement on the things that I will cover at this time. Of course, you may or may not agree with the basic dimensional, entity structuring and other concepts that I have presented so far on FQXI. As you have generally not commented on them, I do not know of your positions on them.
