Tag: time

ᵀᴴᴱ WORMHOLE ᴬᴺᴰ ᵀᴴᴱ TIME PARADOX

(Animation from GIPHY.com)

There is no greater limitation on our species, than the limitations we face when perceiving how limited our perception actually is. We are creatures of an entropic universe, like microscopic organisms that live and die in the upper half of the dwindling sands of an hour glass. As far as we can perceive, the arrow of time points in one direction only. We, like everything we have ever known with what senses we possess, are always and seemingly infinitely the products of something else. The organic life that exists now has reproduced and replicated itself since a time we would call the ‘beginning’ of the bioorganic world. The formation of perceivable matter, we attest to the amalgamation of microscopic particles after the Big Bang. The further back we travel however, speculating some origin of the universe, our imaginations begin to fail us. The limitations of our comprehension and understanding of the ‘grand scheme of all things’ begin to show, like cracks in a façade.

To our general human understanding, everything that ever is, was, or will be, must have or had, a beginning of some sort. When we apply this concept to the ever expanding universe in which our species resides, we are faced with a perplexing thought. We are told that the Big Bang is the moment that both time and space came into existence, that the cause was/could have been a totally random event. But for any catalyst to occur, of any magnitude, something had to have happened. Thus the waters begin to grow increasingly murky. In lieu of our universe, in the absence of this ‘reality’, what is/was there? If anything at all? If our universe did not exist, whether or not there is or isn’t anything beyond, we are for the most part, utterly incapable of imagining what continues to ‘go on’, wherever/whenever that may be.

Approximately 13.8 billion years ago, our comprehensible universe in its entirety existed in a fraction of time and space many, many times smaller than a single atom. Some have theorized the existence of parallel universes, a direct ‘shadow universe’ (connected/veiling our own and connected by gravity since and attributing to the beginning of our universe) and an entire multiverse linking/spawning universes and or dimensions. One theorized means of connecting two isolated points in space and time, universes, or junctures throughout the multiverse are naturally occurring ‘wormholes’.

Science-fiction has taken many liberties with the concept of the wormhole, suggesting that they are assuredly shortcuts through the curvature of space-time and traversable by forms of life (often with the aid of highly advanced technology). When in truth, for the most part, we can only speculate and hypothesize. Usually when it’s suggested that a wormhole could be used to travel billions of light-years in a short amount of time, it’s because it is believed that space-time bends and folds. But between folded points, like a folded piece of paper, an entry/exit hole exists (wormholes) cutting through billions of light-years of otherwise linear distances.

It’s one thing to discuss the function of wormholes and the possible use to traverse points in space and time in our own universe, but it is somewhat more controversial (or fictitious) to suggest the notion that wormholes could link parallel universes, dimensions or the multiverse entirely. When entertaining the idea that there could be arguably traversable links between our universe and the multiverse, a great many questions arise. Time is considered the fourth dimension in our universe, but higher dimensions and theoretical qualities of the multiverse transcend time. So would it be possible for a wormhole to form (by some hypothetical means) between our universe at a point in time when the date on earth was the 4th of September, 1772 and a region in the multiverse independent from time. The wormhole opens for a duration of exactly 9 seconds before vanishing in our universe, but in the multiverse it remains perpetually open and infinitely linked to the 4th of September, 1772 during a 9 second period.

Then in the earth year 7772, another wormhole appears in our universe, linking to the multiverse, relatively close to the constant wormhole that is still connected to the 9 second window in the year 1772. Now the hypothetical paradoxes begin to arise. Imagine, an advanced form of life (ultraterrestrial, extraterrestrial) learns of the existence of countless wormholes, throughout universes and the multiverse to travel where and when it wants, anywhere imaginable at the speed of light. Only one day, it happens to go through the same wormhole twice, that links to our universe on the 4th of september, 1772 for 9 seconds…

During the 9 second window, the advanced being had already once passed through and been present. So theoretically, upon this loop around, returning to the same wormhole, the advanced being would witness its former self embarking on its prior journey. Only, shouldn’t have it seen its future self appear simultaneously upon its original arrival? What if, the second craft was ill fated and another being wanted to warn it to avoid catastrophe. Immediately, during the 9 second window in 1772, three crafts would exit the wormhole. Two identical crafts and one third, warning them of their misfortune. All three navigate wormholes home, but now there are two replicates of the same being, one several hours (relatively) older than the other returning to their home world?

What if someone in 7772 designs an explosive of planetary proportions and sends it through the wormhole channels, that lead back to the 9 second window in 1772 and the explosion consequently destroys planet earth? Some might suggest that the future would cease to be the moment its past was eradicated. But others believe that theoretically, time trajectories are entirely independent. Meaning where we are in this juncture of time and space, is entirely separate to any hypothetical alterations to the past. So even the concept of going through the wormhole and seeing a former self may be impossible, because the point you pass into this universe/dimension is 0.00 for both parties. Only if there was a time variation for one to arrive at 0.00 and one at 0.01 or less, would they occur in the same point or trajectory in time and space. Because time is relative, not absolute, especially in the sense of a multiverse transcending time, it creates a paradox of epic proportion.

Our interpretation of time and inter-dimensional travel is limited by our experience. While most people agree time travel, especially traveling backwards through time is utterly impossible, even if it were theoretically achievable, we often struggle to fathom what implications could/would arise from it. Could you return to a specific point in time, to pick up one dollar from the side of the road, over and over and over again? Appearing at 6.00 AM on the dot each time, returning again and again as your pocket fills with dollar coins. Or would you return once and be fighting over the first coin with yourself?

Posted on by ᵀᴴᴱ ARGONAUT 1

TIME TRAVEL ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ 2ɴᴅ ʟᴀᴡ ᴏғ THERMODYNAMICS

(Animation from GIPHY.com)

In some ways the birth of our universe could be compared to the lighting of a candle, the “Big Bang” was when it was first lit. With this now burning wick, entropy increases, the once stagnant unaltered order/state of the wick and candle’s pristine structure begins to diminish as time passes. So begins the gradual decline into total disorder. Total disorder being the incineration of the wick, the form of the candle being lost, and equilibrium is achieved. The energy (wherever it came from) has been transferred, converted, but for all intents and purposes, it is gone (a process is deemed ‘irreversible’ if dissipation occurs, which in most instances, it does). As the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics states, in all processes that occur (including spontaneous) the entropy at least in regards to thermodynamics, is irreversible.

So just as the flickering flame of the candle will at some stage burn out, so too, as theorized by some, could/will our universe reach its equilibrium and enter a phase known as “total heat death”. In this outcome of achieved equilibrium everything in the entire universe would be the same temperature. The height of entropy, total disorder, no transference of energy or structure. No rhyme or reason. Just stagnate remaining mass, moving unpredictably in an eternity of darkness.

Entropy is intrinsically linked with the Arrow of Time (in physics). Coined by the British astronomer Arthur Eddington. Eddington gave three factors regarding, the arrow of time:

⦿ It is vividly recognized by consciousness.

⦿ It is equally insisted on by our reasoning faculty, which tells us that a reversal of the arrow would render the external world nonsensical.

⦿ It makes no appearance in physical science except in the study of organization of a number of individuals.

These three factors pertaining to the arrow of time are extremely localized around human perception.

In a way, time going in one direction only → relies on the basis that nothing ever happens/happened after theoretical “total heat death”. Because if something did occur (which it is theorized to be nigh impossible), then we could readdress the definition of the direction of time. As the system of the universe is no longer irreversible. For instance, after total heat death, a gradual pooling of mass begins to occur. Taking billions and billions and billions (times infinity, why not) years, so much mass could be drawn together that a high-density and (and even less likely) high-temperature state is reached. In that scenario, could the “Big Bang” occur again? Could that be the process that occurs over and over and over? If that were possible, the process of our universe’s creation could be deemed reversible. Rendering time no longer linear, but cyclic and infinite.

Meaning time isn’t a straight arrow → pointing in one direction, but rather a circle ↻ that always returns to a structured state, a starting position. In a process larger than we could ever hope to imagine.

If that wasn’t as extremely far-fetched and hypothetically scientifically offensive for you to consider, then consider this, what if everything forms, exactly the same, every single time the universe goes through this cycle? (There are some that argue that there is no such thing as a truly random outcome of events. It merely appears that way to our understanding, as we cannot perceive what is going on at the most finite level.)

As it stands, our current time traveling abilities are extremely limited. We have access to such a tiny portion. At best, around 100 years. We’ve mastered travelling forward through time. We’re doing it right now. As your eyes trail over this text, the words previously read give an indication that you are progressively moving forward.

But consider this science-fiction scenario:

The adult son of two prominently known archeologists (by some extraordinary hypothetical means) manages to momentarily travel back in time, some 145 million years, for a total duration of 15 seconds. He travels to a region somewhere in North America, during the Cretaceous period. Where his brief appearance momentarily distracts a pack of deinonychus (the 100kg version of the 15kg velociraptor) from noticing a tenontosaurus in the distance, prey they would have otherwise eaten. Thus, eliminating the specific archeological dig site where his parents first met. Subsequently, either, eliminating himself from existence, creating an alternate reality. Or whatever other scenario someone might imagine.

One of the many problems with this hypothetical scenario is that small, minuscule detail skimmed over at the beginning. The act of travelling backwards in time. It’s virtually impossible to imagine a means by which anyone could travel backwards through a process while entropy is taking place.

Unless, a being was somehow capable of making itself entirely independent from the process (the universe reaching equilibrium). In which case, according to the theories suggested (total pseudo-science, if that wasn’t obvious already), the way to travel backward in time could be to actually go so far forward, that you catch the past as it occurs again for the first time, in one of the next formations of the universe.

Perhaps beings beyond our comprehensible universe have been aware of this cyclic order of things longer than we even have words to describe what we call “time”?

Could God himself be a being who discovered how to isolate himself from the process? Or perhaps his ability to escape the process is innate?

If extraterrestrial life does have an interest in our planet, could it be monitoring the formations of this universe each cycle? Comparing our status with last time and the time before that? Eternally making comparisons to previous visits. Maybe they require things that occur so rarely, they come to a specific point each cycle to gather a valuable resource.

These theories are just a handful of many theories that are more than likely, all completely wrong (like most theories). But, it’s still intriguing (for some) to entertain the thought. Maybe we’ll never truly understand the mysteries of the universe, maybe next time around?

Posted on by ᵀᴴᴱ ARGONAUT 2

ᴛʜᴇ ILLUSION ᴏғ TIME

Unless you hold some sort of remarkable disinterest in the natural world, or possess a visual impairment, thus far in your lifetime it’s highly likely you would have noticed stars. Shining, twinkling and adorning the darkness of our planet’s night skies. Unbeknownst to some of us however, is that a great many of these twinkling little lights extinguished in many cases, millions of years ago.

What we are gazing upon is the light that star produced during its prime, traveling at the speed of light, yet still only now reaching our visual senses. The speed of light in the vacuum of space, is 299, 792, 458 meters per second (186, 282 miles per second. 299, 792 kilometers per second). To put that in perspective, our Earth is also about 149, 597, 870 km from the Sun. The light from the sun takes 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach us on our planet’s surface. (149, 597, 870 km/299 792 km = 499 seconds/60 = 8.3168 = 8 minutes and 19 seconds).

So what this tells us, among other things, is that space is in fact, very, very big. So big in fact that even something as fast as the speed of light, takes quite a bit of time to get from one celestial body to the next. So what does any of this have to do with how we perceive time you might be wondering?

It is said that the speed of light as far as we can tell is a constant, but that doesn’t mean it’s a reliable source to suggest the existence of what we call “time”. Because while gravity does not effect light particles (directly), it does result in something called Gravitational Time Dilation. Gravitational Time Dilation is the differences in recorded time(s) observed at varied distances to a gravitational mass.

Essentially, while light is not directly effected by gravity, spacetime however, can be curved or warped by mass (gravity). This curvature of spacetime can in effect lengthen the distance required by light to travel to reach an observer. Meaning even though light travels at a constant speed, depending on the mass of the planet you find yourself on (along with many other gravitational factors), you may see the light sooner or later than someone perceiving the same light source on a planet further or closer to the same source.

This theory(?) is most commonly observed in Global Positioning System satellites which are positioned about 20, 197 km/12, 550 miles from the Earth. Being so far from the center of the Earth’s gravity, the clocks aboard the satellites systems measure (represent?) a passing of time faster than that on Earth. Which eventually led to the satellites requiring re-calibration with earth’s time to be able to function adequately.

To apply this concept of Gravitational Time Dilation in a way that is relative for us to understand (because in the end, that’s all time actually is). Scientists have discovered that if you should place two atomically accurate stop-watches at two locations, one stop-watch one foot higher than the other and left them ticking over in pristine isolation for 79 years, upon your return you would find that the stop-watch closer to Earth’s center would be 90 billionths of a second behind the stop-watch, one foot above.

To anyone reading this (assuming anyone did), you may scoff at 90 billionths of a second and think, in no way does that mean anything to me. But to you I will present this possibility: Imagine if everything that occurred in the formation of this planet (or one very similar), just so happened, by some chance, to take formation identically to Earth’s, only in regards to its collective mass being amplified, by 999, 999 , 999 billion, billion, billion, billion etc, etc %.

Mega Earth. Where there are copies of every one of us standing 999, 999 , 999 billion, billion, billion, billion etc, etc % larger than we are now. Out of curiosity how long do you think one of these colossal doppelgänger’s might live? An average lifespan? It theoretically correlates with gravity, so it goes without saying, that these beings, would live unbelievably long lifetimes. Nigh unfathomable to you or I.

The same principle could be applied to a microscopic world and the theory of evolution. Microscopic humanoids from a microscopic world would see a relative time almost uncurved by mass/gravity at all. Does this mean when compared to a much, much larger planet they are thousands of years of development ahead? Could there be microscopic highly advanced spacefarers traversing distances we can’t fathom, at sizes we cannot even detect with the naked eye?

All said and done, time is relative. Not even just in a scientific sense. It’s personal, we each perceive it differently. We wield it how we choose, some better than others. We even get allotted different amounts to spend in this world. But time as we generally come to know it, purely a man-made means of showing up on time for appointments, giving a name to something that doesn’t really exist.

The concept of TIME is brilliant, unique and very much needed for order and structure on this planet. But, it is also an illusion.

Posted on by ᵀᴴᴱ ARGONAUT 1