Does Time really exist or is it just a usefull tool for us to define the position of objects in space?

Answer 1

You're touching on an interesting question. There is an article called "Does Time Exist" in the June, 2007 issue of Discovery magazine that you should find very interesting (or, maybe you are asking the question because you just read the article). Says Simon Saunders, a philosopher of physics at the University of Oxford, "The meaning of time has become terribly problematic... The situation is so uncomfortable that by far the best thing to do is declare oneself an agnostic."

I can't do the article justice by summarizing it in this little box, but the question that time may not exist is known as the "problem of time" among physicists. Physicists also cannot explain why time is a one-way process, always moving forward, despite the fact that all the laws - Newton's, Einstein's, and even quantum rules - would work just as well if time ran backwards. "It is quite mysterious why we have such an obvious arrow of time", says Seth Lloyd, a quantum mechanical engineer at MIT. In an interview that started with the question, "What is time?", Lloyd's response was, "Beats me. Are we done?"

Answer 2

My personal opinion is that space and time are two inherent characteristics of the Universe and that the Big Bang didn't mark the creation of space and time but perhaps of our own spacetime. Even an empty geometry is a sort of space.
Is there any evidence that it is really there... or is it much like the ether that was once thought to fill the universe?

We certainly feel ourselves being pushed and dragged along by the river of time... Therefore, time must exist… right?

Perhaps. But consider that time is something that we perceive through our senses, which are not perfect.

Is it possible that how we think about time is related to how our brain processes information?

One can divide any period of time into a past and future, from millennia to micro-seconds. The present is nothing more than a fleeting moment through which the future passes to become the past.

If this is true... we are left with quite a perplexing problem... the past and future do not exist and the present has no duration... so how can time be measured?

Answer 3

With all those spookily brilliant answers there, saying this is really dumb, but if you ask me, time’s simply there cause it makes life a hell lot easier (if you consider organisation to be easier that is..else you could easily ignore it, or yet better, play with it!......at your own risk though). In a more appropriately proper manner (considering its time that’s at stake!) ,even if it does not exist per se (that’s quite like asking does the universe really exist (for all the astrophysicists and rocket scientists, I don’t mean tangibility or so.....I mean the part beyond what we can see, feel or somehow gauge of existing) or not......or that is lightspeed really unsurpassable?) , its existence justifies itself due to the invaluable (and pretty much irreplaceable too!) services it renders to all of humankind (or most of us lesser mortals for sure!)

I mean look all around and simply consider how would life be without it (sure, this is no reason for existence, but its a really really valid one for having it nonetheless).Humans inherently try to associate things (they say it helps you remember better....for time its a lot more than just remember....for heavens sake....science might actually say its not there someday, but hell, science wouldn’t ever have got here without it for sure) , and this is the best example for it.Time's like the ledgerbook for every act ,event, important moment etc.And then, its by and far a very very useful thing for remembering all those fond memories (not that the not-that-fond-ones make a difference).

lol........to sum up, time’s darn convenient, its pretty helpful (I know that’s hard to believe, since we always seem to run a futile race against it....or atleast sometimes we do) and mostly keeps life from getting messed up (the mostly is there for good reason!), though as far as the explicit question is concerned, I'm none the wiser.......nor after the reading those answers nor after writing mine!

Oh and Einstein never "proved" its existence.........he simply used it in a very clever (and very cool one too if you ask me!) way.....analogous to how the some of the most basic tenents of geometry are still all but axioms.....and yes the dimension point is valid,which means its equal to the other three (can you prove there exists a dimension for length?) and hence as existent or not as the space itself is.

PS. I have a small question of my own...........while I don’t agree that its insane to say time's all baloney, but tell me, even if it were proved it is, would you give up on it ?

Answer 4

Time will exist as long as there is matter to create events. Objects are located in space only to the point of the fourth dimension, time, objects will never be in that particular space again and for that reason alone time travel becomes impossible.

Answer 5

Just to set the record straight.... There are horoscopes- silly /vague/ waste of time! Then there are astrological charts. No way you can compare the two - ever! I grew up with a MOM who was an astrologer and I (like you) just thought she was crazy. Eccentric> is a good word for it. A few times a week she and her pals all got together and studied charts- Manually- with Math- it was strange and completely impossible to grasp. My grandmother was wired for dreams that had a way of coming true- Mom practiced astral projection- and wrote books and gave lessons in both Ballet and Astrology (for different age groups) Thank God! I just ignored all this as her "hobby" -So big deal she wasn't a great homemaker but she had a way with people and life. Everyone loved her spirit and zest. She was tiny and blonde and looked like a movie star - and barely wore make up. All my boyfriends liked her and would spend time at my house just to hear her talk. Boy could she talk!!!!! Regardless, after most of her predictions were staring me in the face - Even I had to admit she was "on" to something...I started reading and the rest is history. I believe you control your own destiny- but with the luck of the draw we've been given to work with. No two people are the same - we all bring our own special magic to the table. Some are just more in touch with the astro climate and work it.

Answer 6

like einstein said, time doesn't exist. time seems to be more of a useful tool by which measurements are made.....time is called the 4th dimension but then again....what are dimensions? useful tools that help us make sense of things? time can define the position of objects in space.....it is used to count the days, months and years and our age.....all exist because time exists.....

Answer 7

Time is defined so that motion looks simple.

Imagine you're floating in intergalactic space. You have a ruler, and you use the ruler to set out markers at regular intervals of distance. Then you take an object, and set it drifting past the markers. In modern physics, time is defined so that in this situation, the drifting object takes equal time to drift between the equally-spaced markers. General relativity then tells you how to relate the time and space in that flat, intergalactic coordinate system to other coordinate systems nearer to gravitating bodies. The (assumed constant) speed of light connects spatial intervals and time intervals everywhere.

Answer 8

Time exists just like distance and mass.

I am not gonna cite a sceintific theory, just plain of reasoning.

If time didnt exist, I would always be late... (hahaha just joking)

Seriously, time must exist because all matter has a half life. So there for things chnage over a period of unchange. So things change in a period of time.

Just think it through simply and you will see that it is incredibly obvious.

Answer 9

Physical time is a physical reality. It is described in the physics trilogy, which is: E = mc2, m = E/c2, and c2 = E/m. The last is that of a field of gravity, or of physical time. The first two equations describe time as it relates to us. In the first it is the multiplier and in the second the divider. It is the basis of each of the equations.

What this means to us is that we are totally composed of this value. The relationship between the c^2 factors and that of mass lies in the composition of mass. Mass is composed of electromagnetic energy and for this reason is subject to the same restrictions as that form of energy. As the value of "c" expresses the time value of electromagnetic energy, it also expresses the time value of mass.

The value of "c" determines our existence. It describes that all mass and energy moves from present time to that of past time at the same rate of speed. It also says that there exists nothing in our would (universe) that is not totally, only composed of this value, and any form of energy not having this exact "constant" would not exist to us.

Answer 10

Yes, time exists in the same way as the 3 spatial dimensions exists, and at a right angle to them.