Time Space Question?

Question

Is it possible to stop time? And yes I am being vague on purpose so please flame away (me and my friend had a long argument about this and want an answer)

Thnx for the info. Yes I know about space and time and relativity. The problem is convincing my friend hence the post.

My arguement was that 'Time' is just a measurement of actions and that if one person was frozen and woke up for that person time would have stopped (relativity ^_^)

Another arguement was that as you reach the speed of light time slows and if it were possible and you reached THE speed of light, time will no longer apply to you as you are beyond measurement of actions that anyone can comprehend.

my friends arguement was that it is STILL not yet possible to stop time for 'everyone' .

I guess it really comes down to how you look at it and how the questions defined.
1. if it's relative to an object
2. if it is Time the whole
3. if we're talking about theoretically or practically

Answer 1

Yes. Theoretically, since time slows down at the speed of light, and because time bends around objects, this means that time is malleable in how it moves. It's entirely possible that someone may one day figure out the mechanics of time in a manner which makes it possible to stop time.

Basically, since it's not a static force, it can be manipulated. If it can be manipulated, it can be stopped. I'm sure that in the distant past someone looked at lightning and asked if it would be possible to harness that energy. The answer then would have been a resounding No. But here we are. And I sincerely believe that we may one day figure out the physical laws which regulate time in much the same manner that we figured out how to harness electricity.....

Edit: It seems, upon reflection, that your friend and you are arguing semantics. Time for most people is a measure, a yard stick, of existence. And thus, if someone were frozen and woke up 1,000 years later, time would not have stopped, but would have dissapeared. In order to say that time Stopped, the person would have to wake to the exact same moment that he was frozen. For example, a person in a coma does not have Stopped time, but Lost time.

In physics, time seems to be a function of gravity, mass, and other factors not yet understood. A person who lives in a slower time frame wouldn't see it as slower... It's point of view when you get to this definition. If you are moving at a rate of speed which moves you beyond the physical parameters of time, then to you the rest of the universe stops. To the universe, you are merely moving at a speed which renders you beyond measure.

I still think it's a possibility... as Einsteins law says E=MC2. Which, by definition says that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared, which is- in fact- quite different than what people seem to think. Mass moving at the speed of light squared becomes energy. This works because light doesn't move in a straight line, but vibrates, thus multiplying it's actual speed as opposed to it's straight line speed. Thus, by slowing down the rate of vibration of a particle, one can accelerate it straight line beyond the actual speed of light. Ta da.

Answer 2

Well you can ignore the first and third answers because travel faster than light speed is not possible so far as we know, and time does NOT stop at the event horizon of a black hole, it only appears to from the perspective of an outside observer. If you were to drop into a black hole you would be rendered into a string of atoms very quickly. No, time cannot be stopped, however there may come a point when it does stop of its own accord, if it turns out there is not enough mass in the universe to make it cease expansion and contract back into a singularity. In that case expansion will go on until a point is reached that no new stars are formed, existing ones die out, the universe cools and eventually all matter ceases any movement. All energy has been expended. This being the case, time is no longer needed, and effectively ceases to exist.

Answer 3

Theoretically, an object, such as a person, is always traveling at the speed of light. However, that movement is spread along all the dimensions, the three physical/directional dimensions, and one time dimension. If your movement in the three directional dimensions were to match that of light, your movement through time would stop. On that principle, all the photons in existence are exactly as old as they were the moment in which the universe began, as all of their motion is expended through the spatial dimensions.

This answer is purely theoretical though, because it is impossible to reach the speed of light. As an object goes faster and faster, you need a more and more powerful force to continue its acceleration. To reach the speed of light, you would need an infinite amount of energy.

Answer 4

When you reach the speed of light, there is a dialiation that suspens time in relation to how much faster than light you are going. Of course, you have to take into account, the space/time continuium will double in on itself with each parameter that you multiply by.

Answer 5

At the event horizon of a black hole, time comes to a halt. Time slows in the presence of a gravitational field.

Answer 6

are you talking about time itself or motion of molecules? You should realize that time is actually two things actual time and movement (movement is what man views as time).