"Time has been a major subject of religion, philosophy, and science, but defining time in a non-controversial manner applicable to all fields of study has consistently eluded the greatest scholars."
---http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time
Thursday, January 15, 2009
THE CONVENTIONAL SYSTEM OF TEMPORAL MEASURE
Without having first defined what Time is, I can make a statement:
Time is measured in seconds
The second is the SI base unit of measure Time. I can therefore substitute that into my original statement:
Time is measured in seconds
Time is measured in {SI units of duration}
See chart, click to enlarge:
Time is measured in seconds
The second is the SI base unit of measure Time. I can therefore substitute that into my original statement:
Time is measured in seconds
Time is measured in {SI units of duration}
See chart, click to enlarge:
Monday, January 12, 2009
SPLITTING TIME
When it comes to Time, the English language does not make a distinction between:
1- the system of measurement (called time)
2- that which is being measured (also called time)
I would like to start by making the distinction between the two more clear:
1- time (with a small t) is a system of measure using SI units of duration
2- TIME (with a BIG T) is that which is being measured.
I can then substitute this into my original statement:
Time is measured in seconds
Time is measured in {SI units of duration}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {SI units of duration}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {SI units of duration of (small t) time}
1- the system of measurement (called time)
2- that which is being measured (also called time)
I would like to start by making the distinction between the two more clear:
1- time (with a small t) is a system of measure using SI units of duration
2- TIME (with a BIG T) is that which is being measured.
I can then substitute this into my original statement:
Time is measured in seconds
Time is measured in {SI units of duration}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {SI units of duration}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {SI units of duration of (small t) time}
PERIODIC EPISODES
The SI units of duration of (small t) time are not the only scale of duration available to measure (BIG T) TIME. The following two statements are equivalent if the sandglass = 1 hour
1- I will eat dinner in 1 hour.
2- I will eat dinner after the sandglass empties once.
Due to the arbitrary nature of the units used to define the scale of (small t) time, it will be helpful to write a definition of (small t) time irrespective of specifically defined units. It is possible to say that:
[an SI unit of duration of (small t) time] = {the duration separating [event’] ---> and ---> [event’’]}
Let’s check. I will assume that it took a man 60 minutes to walk from the bottom of the Empire State Building to the top. Being at the bottom of the Empire State Building, and being at the top of the Empire State Building are two distinct events. 60 minutes is the measured duration of (small t) time. Therefore:
[60 minutes of duration of (small t) time] = {the duration separating [a man being at the bottom of the Empire State Building] ---> and ---> [a man being at the top of the Empire State Building]}
where:
[event’] = [a man being at the bottom of the Empire State Building]
[event’’] = [a man being at the top of the Empire State Building]
[an SI unit of duration of (small t) time] = 60 minutes
This definition of (small t) time irrespective of units seems logical and equivalent to the definition with SI units. I will substitute this into my original statement:
Time is measured in seconds
Time is measured in {SI units of duration}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {SI units of duration}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {SI units of duration of (small t) time}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {durations separating [event’] ---> and ---> [event’’]}
1- I will eat dinner in 1 hour.
2- I will eat dinner after the sandglass empties once.
Due to the arbitrary nature of the units used to define the scale of (small t) time, it will be helpful to write a definition of (small t) time irrespective of specifically defined units. It is possible to say that:
[an SI unit of duration of (small t) time] = {the duration separating [event’] ---> and ---> [event’’]}
Let’s check. I will assume that it took a man 60 minutes to walk from the bottom of the Empire State Building to the top. Being at the bottom of the Empire State Building, and being at the top of the Empire State Building are two distinct events. 60 minutes is the measured duration of (small t) time. Therefore:
[60 minutes of duration of (small t) time] = {the duration separating [a man being at the bottom of the Empire State Building] ---> and ---> [a man being at the top of the Empire State Building]}
where:
[event’] = [a man being at the bottom of the Empire State Building]
[event’’] = [a man being at the top of the Empire State Building]
[an SI unit of duration of (small t) time] = 60 minutes
This definition of (small t) time irrespective of units seems logical and equivalent to the definition with SI units. I will substitute this into my original statement:
Time is measured in seconds
Time is measured in {SI units of duration}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {SI units of duration}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {SI units of duration of (small t) time}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {durations separating [event’] ---> and ---> [event’’]}
TIME & THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
The First Law of Thermodynamics states:
---Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms---
---In any process, the total energy of the universe remains the same---
---For a thermodynamic cycle the net heat supplied to the system equals the net work done by the system---
1 liter of water is boiled on an electric stove. The temperature of the water changed from 10°C to 99.974°C.
This situation was created to be in accordance with the First Law of Thermodynamics. Energy was not created or destroyed, it merely changed form (electrical to heat). The total energy of the universe has remained the same (assumed, but testable in reality or mathematically). The electric stove supplied heat to the system, and that heat equals the net work done by the system.
However.
Boiling 1 liter of water on an electric stove so that the temperature of the water changes from 10°C to 99.974°C, is also a duration separating two distinct events. Therefore:
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {durations separating [event’] ---> and ---> [event’’]}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {durations separating [water at 10°C] ---> and ---> [water at 99.974°C]}
where:
[event’] = water at 10°C
[event’’] = water at 99.974°C
According to the First Law of Thermodynamics:
The change in water temperature separating 10°C and 99.974°C is a MEASUREMENT of heat due to the work done by [the process of energy changing from one form to another].
Which can be reduced to:
The change in water temperature separating 10°C and 99.974°C is a MEASUREMENT of [the process of energy changing from one form to another].
English grammar the allows me to flip this statement around the word MEASUREMENT. Therefore:
{the process of energy changing from one form to another} IS MEASURED IN the change in water temperature separating 10°C and 99.974°C.
This statement now looks eerily similar to the equation of (BIG T) TIME. I would like to make an addendum to the First Law of Thermodynamics stating that: ---In any process, a change in energy is non-instantaneous--- So long as this addendum holds true, the following will hold true:
{the non-instantaneous process of energy changing from one form to another} is measured in {durations separating [water at 10°C] ---> to ---> [water at 99.974°C]}
and:
{the non-instantaneous process of energy changing from one form to another} is measured in {durations separating [event’] ---> and ---> [event’’]}
and therefore:
(BIG T) TIME = {the non-instantaneous process of energy changing from one form to another}
or
---(BIG T) Time is the non-instantaneous process of energy changing from one form to another, measured by arbitrarily conceived units of (small t) time---
so long as the First Law of Thermodynamics states:
---In any process, a change in energy is non-instantaneous---
---Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only change forms---
---In any process, the total energy of the universe remains the same---
---For a thermodynamic cycle the net heat supplied to the system equals the net work done by the system---
1 liter of water is boiled on an electric stove. The temperature of the water changed from 10°C to 99.974°C.
This situation was created to be in accordance with the First Law of Thermodynamics. Energy was not created or destroyed, it merely changed form (electrical to heat). The total energy of the universe has remained the same (assumed, but testable in reality or mathematically). The electric stove supplied heat to the system, and that heat equals the net work done by the system.
However.
Boiling 1 liter of water on an electric stove so that the temperature of the water changes from 10°C to 99.974°C, is also a duration separating two distinct events. Therefore:
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {durations separating [event’] ---> and ---> [event’’]}
(BIG T) TIME is measured in {durations separating [water at 10°C] ---> and ---> [water at 99.974°C]}
where:
[event’] = water at 10°C
[event’’] = water at 99.974°C
According to the First Law of Thermodynamics:
The change in water temperature separating 10°C and 99.974°C is a MEASUREMENT of heat due to the work done by [the process of energy changing from one form to another].
Which can be reduced to:
The change in water temperature separating 10°C and 99.974°C is a MEASUREMENT of [the process of energy changing from one form to another].
English grammar the allows me to flip this statement around the word MEASUREMENT. Therefore:
{the process of energy changing from one form to another} IS MEASURED IN the change in water temperature separating 10°C and 99.974°C.
This statement now looks eerily similar to the equation of (BIG T) TIME. I would like to make an addendum to the First Law of Thermodynamics stating that: ---In any process, a change in energy is non-instantaneous--- So long as this addendum holds true, the following will hold true:
{the non-instantaneous process of energy changing from one form to another} is measured in {durations separating [water at 10°C] ---> to ---> [water at 99.974°C]}
and:
{the non-instantaneous process of energy changing from one form to another} is measured in {durations separating [event’] ---> and ---> [event’’]}
and therefore:
(BIG T) TIME = {the non-instantaneous process of energy changing from one form to another}
or
---(BIG T) Time is the non-instantaneous process of energy changing from one form to another, measured by arbitrarily conceived units of (small t) time---
so long as the First Law of Thermodynamics states:
---In any process, a change in energy is non-instantaneous---
TIME & THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
The second Law of Thermodynamics states:
---The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time approaching a maximum value at equilibrium---
Heat does not pass from a cooler body to a warmer body. It is an irreversible process. There are many forms of energy, and many ways for energy to change from one form to another. Some are cyclical. The rest are irreversible. This would account for the perceived flow of (BIG T) Time from past ----> future.
If a mathematical equation for energy transformation could be shown to be reversible, it would also show a regression in Time.
---The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time approaching a maximum value at equilibrium---
Heat does not pass from a cooler body to a warmer body. It is an irreversible process. There are many forms of energy, and many ways for energy to change from one form to another. Some are cyclical. The rest are irreversible. This would account for the perceived flow of (BIG T) Time from past ----> future.
If a mathematical equation for energy transformation could be shown to be reversible, it would also show a regression in Time.
THE ARROW OF TIME
Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism admits two kinds of mathematical solutions for equations describing energy in an electromagnetic field. According to these equations, electromagnetic waves in a vacuum travel at the speed of light. Since the speed of light is finite, there must be a delay between the moment the photon is emitted at t = t0, until the observer at distance r notices it at t = t1:
t1 = t0 + r / c
The equation can be rearranged to:
t0 = t1 - r / c
The time (t0 = t1 - r / c) is defined as the retarded time and represents the delay between the photon emission and the moment at which it reaches the observer. It is the (BIG T) Time reverse solution.
t1 = t0 + r / c
The equation can be rearranged to:
t0 = t1 - r / c
The time (t0 = t1 - r / c) is defined as the retarded time and represents the delay between the photon emission and the moment at which it reaches the observer. It is the (BIG T) Time reverse solution.
TIME & THE THIRD LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS
The Third Law of Thermodynamics states:
---As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches a constant minimum---
It is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in any finite number of operations, since the amount of potential work which could be done approaches a constant maximum value. Therefore it is not possible to predict how energy will change from one form to another since every change becomes more potentially possible.
Time can only have meaning so long as one form of energy is trapped in cyclical motion. In a completely random system, there is no repetitive event to define as Time=0 to begin a measurement.
---As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches a constant minimum---
It is impossible to reduce the temperature of a system to absolute zero in any finite number of operations, since the amount of potential work which could be done approaches a constant maximum value. Therefore it is not possible to predict how energy will change from one form to another since every change becomes more potentially possible.
Time can only have meaning so long as one form of energy is trapped in cyclical motion. In a completely random system, there is no repetitive event to define as Time=0 to begin a measurement.
DERIVATIVES OF THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS
Energy can not be destroyed or created, but must instead constantly change forms, since it can not be stopped with any finite number of operations. Therefore the non-instantaneous transformation of energy we call Time can not be stopped, though it will fade to the imperceptible as randomness increases since there will be no repetitive event from which a measuring system could be derived.
THE STANDARD DEFINITION OF TIME
Notice how the dictionary definition does not mention energy.
Click to enlarge:
Click to enlarge:
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