If atoms never die is time a false construct? Have we have lived in a constant state since the dawn of 'time'?

Answer 1

Time is a concept made by man! there is no such thing as time just a sequence of events. Atoms don't 'die' they just either decay into something else or get sucked into a black hole. But even being sucked into a black hole isn't the end because there is usually a virtual particle brought into existence at the 'time' of annihilation to balance out the laws of conservation. Check out wikipedia.com under 'laws of conservation' for a more scientific explanation. Way to go!! Just keep asking questions because that is how new theories are brought about!!!

Answer 2

First : U can't assign a term like 'die' to an atom. It doesnt have life ? But atoms can be converted to other atoms or converted to energy.
There is no relation b/w an atom and time.
Time is a dimension( 4th) in Space-Time Continuim. Time started with the birth of the universe and will end when the universe ends.And we are not living in a constant state since the dawn of 'time'.....

Answer 3

Actually, atoms themselves *do* die - their particles can flash out of existence on occasion. (We've known about Proton annihilation since the 70's - when a proton will suddenly flash out of existence, leaving nothing but a trail of other particles.)

Time isn't really a dimension, as most call it, it's a state. How time is measured is an arbitrary graduation of that state, and those graduations can vary by location. What passes for a second here might be a 1/10 of a second near a black hole.

Out in 'normal' space (say, like here on Earth), time is still affected measurably by gravitational fields, but the state of time is 'traveled' at a more or less uniform rate.

But the bottom line is, just because it's that way locally doesn't mean it's that way everywhere.

Answer 4

A big IF.

We are not even sure if protons never die. We know that neutrons cannot survive on their own (half-life of 15 minutes or so).

We also know that atoms can be altered (e.g., Nitrogen atoms hit by a neutron -- the neutron being produced by cosmic rays hitting the upper atmosphere -- produce Carbon-14).

Atoms can be reduced to their "basics" (e.g., at or near the event horizon of smaller black holes -- very steep gravitational differentiation).

The real problem might be photons: if you believe in the Lorentz factor of time dilation:

D(T) = gamma * D(To)
where gamma = 1/SQRT[1-(v^2/c^2)]

then, as far as a photon is concerned (travelling at a speed of v=c) the time elapsed between it leaving that star over there and arriving into your eye, is exactly 0.

We know that the speed of light is finite. Therefore, the distance covered by the photon -- from the photon's point of view -- is 0. (zero times any finite number is zero)

So time AND space are both constructs.

It is possible that, for someone who can view the (3+1) dimensions of space-time from the outside, the entire universe's history is a single event (that observer would view all "times" in one single, fixed image).

I don't know of such an observer; however, the concept can be applied mathematically.

But for us, time seems real and we appear condemned (for now) to travel through it in only one direction.

Answer 5

Actually, atoms might just die. The standard model, and theroies that are trying to improve upon the standard model, have a finite life for the proton. It eventually decays into an anti-electron and a neutron (I think there is a neutrino in there as well). Now this takes on the order of 10^19 years (if I remember this correctly), so it isn't a likely occurance, but if protons eventually decay, the atomic nuclei loose their electric charge and unique identity, and there are no more atoms in the sense of elements. So the "permanence" of atoms is not real.

Answer 6

The Human body among other things consists of atomic structures which forms the architecture of our body.
Changes is the atomic structure are very minute and neglible . Except if one eats too much he will aquire more atoms than is needed.
If atoms were to disappear out of existence ,we would not have a physical body left.
Therefore the Atoms had to be designed and created to have acertain amount of stabitlity. And the Fact that there are so many and no two atoms are alike since their size depends on temperature, it is amazing how they maintain their integrity.
Time must be understood for what it is.=Its a quantity that tell you how fast the atomic processes are taking place.

Answer 7

No, time is not a false construct.

Atoms may not "die," but they can be split (fission) and combined (fusion).

Time is a measurement, not a construct. It is a way of distinguishing between two different states of the universe.

And no, we haven't lived in a constant state since the dawn of time. The universe has changed. Galaxies are farther apart than they were, the Universe is larger than it was, and all in all it's slightly colder.

Answer 8

Time is borne of action and motion .Thgs is why time is not the same and can not be the same everywhere . It is not anythjkng concrete . It is a concept and is pegged to a particular frame of reference.It is just like the yardstick of weight , and measurement of volume .We can assign any duration to time that is convenient to us .We can call teh whole day from mornig six o' clock to the evening five o'c;lock as one hour and simialrly the whole night as one hour if we could find it convenient .Nothing is going to interfere with it .
Atom has nothing to do with it .Are we calculating our time from the day of the Big Bang and if so do we have a Big Bang Calender ?Also can any one say hat the Big Bang that is supposed to have creaed the visible universe inopur galaxcy is the only one and thefirst opt have happened in space ?

Answer 9

It is literally impossible for atoms to die since no atom has ever been alive.

Neutron stars are composed of neutrons - no atoms.
All the atoms were crushed out of existence at the time of its formation. The same goes for black holes.

Huge quantities of matter spiral into many black holes. Once matter crosses the event horizon all atoms in the matter are soon crushed out of existence.

Answer 10

Time is a dimension of the universe. Time expands as the universe expands. We observe time as we pass through it although we can't assume that everything passes through time in the same way that we do.

We appear to live in a constant state because that's how analogue time is defined. Once we move into time being a quanticised dimension, our state proceeds by irregular amounts.

Atoms die. They can transmute and they can pass in and out of existence. That's a fundamental part of the special theory of relativity.