Many philosophers and sages of the East and West have argued that time does not really exist. So, Democritus, following Parmenides in this, wrote: "Time is an appearance in the form of days and nights." Aristotle defined time as “the number (that is, the measure) of movement”, which means that movement is real, while time is relative. But on the other hand, why then is the power of time over man so inexorable, why can't we turn back time, stop it or speed it up?
From the point of view of Indian philosophy, there are different levels consciousness and reality, and on each of them time has different meaning and different origins.
1) Object, or objective time - the time of the waking world, which "collects" our consciousness when we are awake. About this time, the words of Plato in Timaeus remain true, that the planets are “instruments of time”, that is, this time is literally generated, and not simply measured, by the movement of the planets (stars are also included in this concept). Indeed, if time is the number of motion, then in the Universe the largest number motion (impulse) has the total motion of stars and planets.
2) Subjective time - psychological time, dream time. Here time is derived from the intensity of the experiences and their quality, as described in the above quotation from the Letters of the Mahatmas. We can speed up and slow down this time, but we cannot stop or reverse it.
3) The time of dreamless sleep is no longer quite a time in our usual understanding. This time is meaningful, which is generated by attention. When we say, “You won't give me a little time,” it is the same as “You won't give me a little attention,” which means that time and attention have the same root. But at the level of dreamless sleep, the boundaries of the subjects are erased, and we need to talk about some kind of subjectless attention, which can be compared with the currents in the intelligent ocean of Solaris. Although this attention is subjectless, in religions it is sometimes personified in the image of God. So, this is that terrible Time (Kala), the image of which Krishna showed Arjuna in the XI chapter of the Bhagavad Gita.
4) And only at the 4th level of consciousness and reality time does not really exist, since this is the level of the Absolute, incomprehensible and inexpressible in our human concepts, including in terms of time.
So, time is really relative and does not have an independent reality, but at different levels it has a different nature and different sources... And since human existence and man himself as such also have relative existence at the same levels of relativity, it is logical that human existence is subject to the constraints of time corresponding level... To completely free yourself from the limitations of time, you need to completely dissolve in the Absolute.
The seasons are four amazing seasons, each unique and charming in its own way. Spring awakens the living world, fragrant summer, graceful autumn and harsh winter... Nature in all seasons is incredibly beautiful, like a fairy-tale princess trying on different clothes.
Whatever the weather in the yard, be it rainy, rainy or hot, it conveys the mood and colors of its season. Therefore, if you look out the window differently, then in spite of rain or sleet, you want to rejoice and appreciate the opportunity that nature gives us, changing according to the seasons.
Spring awakening
In the spring, nature awakens after a long winter sleep: every day it gets warmer, everything around it turns green literally before our eyes, and in the forest you can more and more often meet animals and hear the joyful chirping of birds. At the beginning of spring there is already little snow, but there are still enough cloudy days.
The appearance of snowdrops means that spring has fully come into its own. It is already gradually warming, sunny days are becoming more, soon a light rain begins to water the blossoming trees. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the first May thunderstorm, which announces that a warm and sunny summer has arrived.
Green summer kingdom
In summer, the meadows are covered with a fragrant vegetable tablecloth, and the gardens delight with a riot of colors - everything around turns into a green summer kingdom. It is at this time of the year that nature shows all its wealth. And a summer night is a special time when you can enjoy the distant stars, falling asleep in the open air.
High air temperature and scorching sun force people to look for shades under the majestic crowns of trees. Summer rain, which brings short-term relief, allows you to see a real miracle of nature - the rainbow. But the leaves beginning to turn yellow are already reporting that autumn is ahead.
Gloomy autumn
Autumn is a gloomy time when you really don't want to leave the house because of constant rains... The weather at this time of the year is constantly changing: a bright sun is shining overhead, and a moment later the sky was covered with thick clouds - a downpour began.
But still, in autumn, nature is incredibly beautiful, because the golden leaves falling from the trees create an amazing atmosphere. You can watch with interest the birds that fly away to winter in warm regions, and the animals preparing for hibernation. All is well bye autumn forest painted with gold colors, but soon the bare trees sadly note that winter is coming soon.
The harsh rules of winter
Winter is a real snow queen: she covers everything around with fluffy snow, which brings a lot of joy. But this time of year has its own harsh rules that have to be reckoned with: long blizzard nights give way to short, non-sunny days. In winter, nature becomes silent - animals are in hibernation, even the chirping of birds cannot be heard.
But still, at this time of year, nature is beautiful in its own way: the white fluffy tablecloth stretches for many kilometers, the snow crunches underfoot and lies on the tree branches like a white pillow. But soon the streams will rumble and snowdrops will break through, like news of the coming spring.
Everything that a person does is somehow connected with time: hours of work and rest, the time when you can do certain things and, on the contrary, you cannot do them (for example, listen to music loudly). Even the very physical existence of a person is regulated by time. This review contains little-known facts about the times that break stereotypes.
Soviet Union experimented with a five- and six-day week between 1929 and 1931. Despite the desire to differentiate his social schedule with the West, the experiment failed miserably and the seven-day week was re-established in 1940.
2. Lunar calendar
Paleolithic artifacts indicate that the Moon was used to calculate time six thousand years ago. Lunar calendars were one of the first on Earth and they consisted of twelve or thirteen lunar months(354 or 384 days).
3. The most ancient clock
A huge number of devices have been invented to measure time. The study of these devices is called watchmaking. An Egyptian device that dates back to about 1500 BC, similar in shape to a curved racer, measured time according to a cast shadow.4. Time as a measure
An ancient Greek sophist named Antiphones was the first to describe time as an unreal thing. In the surviving fragment of his work, it was said: "Time is not reality, it is a concept or measure."
5. Chronos
V Greek mythology Chronos (not to be confused with Kronos, the father of Zeus) is considered the personification of time. His name means "time" and Chronos is usually depicted as an old, wise man with a long gray beard.
6. Leap year
A regular year is 365 days long, and a leap year is 366 days. This is because the Earth revolves around the Sun in little more than 365 days. Therefore, every 4 years in February, an additional day is added.
7. Time and age
The subjective perception of the passage of time tends to accelerate as a person ages. Seniors often complain that years (and even days) go by much faster than before. Various theories have been put forward in this regard. The most popular assumes that young people are constantly getting new and exciting experiences, which requires more neural resources and thinking skills.
8. Galaxy z8_GND_5296
The oldest known object in the universe is a galaxy named z8_GND_5296. Its age is 13.1 billion years, that is, it is "only" six hundred million years younger than the Universe itself.
9. The oldest zircon
The oldest known object on Earth is 4.4 billion years old zircon found in Jack Hills in Western Australia. It is only 160 million years younger than Earth.
10. Time as the fourth dimension
Modern scholars claim that time is the fourth dimension. The first three dimensions are used to determine the location and movement of an object in space, while the fourth dimension is used to determine its position in time.
11. So different 5 minutes
The cultural environment influences a person's perception of time. Psychologist Robert Levine noted in his travels that people from the Middle East perceive time differently compared to Western countries. Americans and Europeans think of time in roughly five-minute intervals, while Middle Easterners think in fifteen-minute intervals. This means that in the real world, Westerners who wait for five minutes and Middle Easterners who wait fifteen minutes are actually waiting for the same amount of time according to their personal perception.
12. Light from the past
Sunlight "reaches" the Earth for a long time, so all the light that people see is from the past. For example, if you look at the Sun, you can see it as it was eight minutes and twenty seconds ago. And the light from the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, has been going on for four whole years. Some of the stars that are visible in the night sky may not actually have existed for hundreds of years.
13. Time Is So Slow
Now like an illusion.
In physics, there is no such thing as "now". Space and time are changeable and depend on the severity and speed of movement. Einstein put it this way: "For us physicists, the difference between past, present and future is just an illusion, albeit permanent."
Do not be late and always keep track of the time will help.
Despite the fact that the phenomenon of time seems intuitive and is fundamental concept in philosophy and science, the exact definition of time has not yet been formed. In this article, we will look at several basic concepts of time from a scientific point of view.
Classical physics
Classical physics developed before the emergence of Einstein's theory of relativity and quantum theory... According to the classical concept of time, time is a continuous quantity that is not determined by anything and is an a priori characteristic of the world. Time is the main condition for the course of any processes in the world. Such time flows equally for all processes and in all points of the world, while there is nothing that can affect the course of time. Despite the fact that bodies and processes can speed up and slow down, the passage of time is even. In this regard, from the point of view of classical physics, time is called absolute. These properties of time were described by Isaac Newton in his work "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" of 1687.
"Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" by Isaac Newton
In classical mechanics, the transition from one frame of reference (inertial) to another is described by the so-called Galilean transformations. The equations of Newtonian mechanics with respect to these transformations are invariant, from which the absoluteness of time emerges.
It should be noted that in classical physics a specific axis is not allocated for time, since, within the framework of this concept, the flow of time in reverse side tantamount to its usual course.
Thermodynamics
Unlike classical physics, thermodynamics asserts that time is irreversible due to the second law of thermodynamics. According to this law, there is a certain function of state - entropy, which does not decrease in any process in closed systems. If time could go in the opposite direction, the entropy in such systems would decrease, which contradicts the above law.
Thermodynamics is distinguished by the strict requirement for the existence of a time axis.
Quantum mechanics
For the most part, the concept of time in the framework of quantum mechanics is similar to the interpretation of classical physics, that is, time flows uniformly. However, the main difference this definition is the irreversibility of time. This is due to the fact that the measurement process is asymmetric in time. Measurement in this moment will give information about the state of the object in the past, but in the future it will give a new state.
Relativistic physics (Einstein's theory of relativity)
The most popular concept of time today is the definition of time within the framework of Einstein's theory of relativity.
Albert Einstein on the Beach (1939), probably thinking about physics
First of all, the main postulates of this concept should be noted:
1. The speed of light in a vacuum is the same in all coordinate systems that move relative to each other uniformly and rectilinearly.
2. Physical laws are the same in all coordinate systems, which move relative to each other uniformly and rectilinearly.
3. Any event can only affect the events that occur later and does not affect the events that occur before it.
Based on the above postulates, it can be argued that events that occur simultaneously in one frame of reference may not be simultaneous in another frame of reference moving relative to the first frame. Thus, within the framework of this concept, the course of time depends on the movement of the selected frame of reference. Simply put, the speed of a watch depends on who wears it.
The most interesting aspect of this theory is the effect of gravity on the flow of time. Within the framework of this concept, space and time are non-independent parts of one space-time continuum. Then, near massive objects, not only space is distorted, but also the speed of time changes.
Curvature of space-time as a result of gravitational disturbance (see the fourth image).
In relativistic physics, time is defined as the fourth coordinate axis coordinate system, the other three axes of which represent the three spatial coordinates of "our three-dimensional world". Thus, each body has a so-called world line. If we consider a given body in the mentioned four-dimensional coordinate system, then it will be represented by an extended set of these bodies. That is, at each moment of its existence, the body will be applied to a four-dimensional coordinate system, depending on its spatial as well as temporal position.
Human world line (simplified), where X and Y are two spatial coordinates and T is a time coordinate (see fifth image).
What is time?
Based on the above, it becomes clear that humanity is completely unclear what time is. The theories listed here are only trying to mathematically (and geometrically) define time as something that can be used in further calculations to explain the observed phenomena.
Based on the postulates emerging from the basic concepts of time, one can try to formulate the following subjective definition:
"Time is a priori geometric parameter, which characterizes the movement, determines the duration of the existence of all processes, there is a condition for the existence of change. It is an integral part of the space-time continuum; there is its fourth coordinate along with three spatial ones. Time is able to bend as a result of gravitational disturbance, while it is irreversible. This phenomenon is relative and depends on the choice of the frame of reference and its speed. It obeys the postulate of causality, according to which any event can only affect the events that occur after it and does not affect the events that occur before it. "
Painting by Salvador Dali "The Persistence of Memory" 1931 (see the sixth image).
This phenomenon cannot be imagined in the mind, and therefore scientists from all over the world are trying to explain it mathematically, which still remains an unbearable task and causes many disagreements in the scientific community. If a scientist is asked the question "What is time?", Then most likely in response you will hear - "This is what is measured by the clock."
