What is Time?

Question

I do understand(somewhat) Einstein's Theory of Relativity. However, what is time? The real question I'm getting at here is: Is time travel possible? If so, then why/how/how is "time" being manipulated to do this? Please, only give real, meaningful answers.

Answer 1

Well, time has no shape. It doesnt exist at all. Its just an imagination that we use to help us through our daily life. One could say, "well we have clocks and clocks measure time"
Clocks in fact do not measure time, we define time by what clocks measure.
The physical world goes on with or without the idea of time. It doesnt exist, but it sure does make our lives easier.
Time is not a NATURAL feature of the universe but simply a concept invented by our species to separate events into past, present and future. There is no Cosmic Master Clock that keeps track of absolute, universal time. There is no physical "past" trailing along behind the "present," nor any physical "future" waiting up ahead for us to get there.

Answer 2

When you get down to it, Time is an artificial concept invented by and existing only in the mind of man. Look up at a star. The light enters you eyes after sometimes traveling many thousands or millions of years. The star is not even in that spot any more. If you want to find out where it moved to. Kick back and wait another thousand or million years to find out. Under those circumstances what is time really? It only exists if there are intelligent beings around to keep track of it's passing. Like that sound that may or may not have been made when that proverbial tree falls in the woods.

Answer 3

In my, only somewhat meaningful opinion given that I am still very young and ignorant, I believe time is only a way to help us plan, it was created to help us keep track of what happened when, and to plan for the future. I believe we thought up time as a means to keep track of our progress as a sentient race, a way to catalog our mistakes and achievements. Time is an illusion we created, not a force of nature or of the Universe, although it could be differently... No one can be absolutely sure and we can only know so much.

I'd also like to add that though we may refer to "the beginning of time" as the formation of the Universe, or the era of dinosaurs, the actually beginning could be as simple as, Pogo the Caveman decided to hunt sabretooth at sundown. But, what do I know right? I'm only 15.

Answer 4

So far as anyone can tell.... *time* cannot be escaped. You can't skip through it, you can't go around it, you can't skip over one minute to arrive instantly at the next.

That being said... time can be slowed - almost stopped - but not quite dead. It cannot be reversed - at least, not *IN* our universe.

Large gravitational sources can SLOW time. (If you stood on a black hole, and looked around, you'd see the whole universe grow old & die, because time (for you) was virtually at a stand still.) Likewise, if there was some form of "negative gravity", this would ADVANCE time. The problem is, gravity is like a muscle - it can only pull. It can't push. So, Time can be free-flowing, or it can be hindered, but it can't be reversed.

Answer 5

i believe that if we were to travel fast enough to catch and hold a ray of light heading in a opposite direction of froward (so a reversed ray) we would lap the earth until the world repeated its self and started again. i would be like re-winding an cassette tape. you'd see every thing the ray would have seen. also their is the theory of worm holes which could take you back to planet earth during a different time era its like a large loop go in 2007 come out when a worm hole opens in 1983. well at least thats how i think they work. hope i confused you even more

Answer 6

Time exists where there is motion, no motion, no time. If time travel was possible you could never die, you would always have to exist in one period of time to permit time travellers to visit you. It's a no brainer.

Answer 7

I would say yes.

But i have no support, i believe you could move forward in time (Ie stasis, or cyrogenics if it ever bares fruit), though going backwards seems alot harder to even begin to understand how.

Answer 8

We are all travelling forward in time at he rate of 60 seconds pere minute.

Answer 9

I don't think time travel is possible.

There is something weird about space & time that is nearly incomprehensible to me. As I understand it we are not just moving through space and we are not just moving through time. We are moving through space time at the speed of light. When we go faster through space, time slows down so that we still go through space time at the speed of light. When we stand still in space, time is moving at the speed of light. For time to stand still we would have to move through space at the speed of light (impossible as far as I know for matter to move through space at the speed of light). For time to go backward (time travel) we would have to move through space faster than the speed of light.

Answer 10

Time is what God created to keep everything from happening all at once.... ;))