Time - It's not just your imagination?

Question

Most of the time(hehe), people think of time as something uncontrollable, metaphysical, or put plain and simple, not real. This is obviously not the case, but that's beside the point. Why are there no theories that desriptavly context time as one of our dimensions (I.e. Time's progression; Time's travel, Time criss-crossing spacial dimensions.), versus all of the different theories we have on space.

I do realize there are theories that involve time in different ways(sr,gr etc.), but no theories that try to explain time itself, and the workings of the dimension it holds. I'd post my theory on time as nonetheless an example, but I don't have enough space(again hehe).

Answer 1

We can exchange articles. I have written a five page article on my ideas of what time is. If you, or any other reader, would like to read it, contact me at

[e-mail]

I will attach it with my reply.

Answer 2

You are clearly not looking in the right places.  For example, several recent Scientific American issues have devoted quite a bit of space (pun intended...he, he) to time...and the other dimensions.  

The latest (July 2008) examines something called causal dynamical triangularzation in which time plays an important part is describing our observered universe.  Without time, the model fails miserably to construct the known universe...in fact, without time, the model ends up with a universe that looks either like a curmpled up piece of paper or like a long piece of spaghetti.

An earlier SA issue also described time as assymetrical with a forward time line that can be theorectically explained through entropy.  My point is, there is a lot of information on time; you can start with the web, but you should also check out the scientific magazines as well.

Answer 3

Within Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, time is the fourth dimension - so that space and time become space-time. This fourth dimension is then incorporated into calculations of the 'metric' or measure of a small element 'ds' of (here flat or Minkowski) space, in an equation of the type: -

ds² = dx² + dy² + dz² - c²dt²

Thus, in relativistic calculations time becomes a fourth dimension. However, a more general consideration of time might proceed as follows.

As humans, we perceive time as a steady progression of a sequence of events whose progress we measure with artificial units. These artificial units are centuries, years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. Although physics allows a symmetric nature to the progression or regression of time; we only observe time as progressing inexorably forward. For human perception, the progress of time may seem fast or slow depending upon what we are doing - despite the imposed units of time progress. Artificial units for time are awkward and so some writers and theorists discuss the march of time in terms of the thermodynamics quantity known as entropy. The entropy of an object is its energy content divided by its temperature: -

S= ∆Q

......__

.......T

Where 'S' is the entropy and '∆Q' the energy content and 'T' is the absolute temperature. The concept of entropy is a measure of order. The more ordered a system is then the lower its entropy. It is a rule of nature that systems such as the universe drift towards greater and greater disorder as 'time' progresses. Thus, the universe started out with a low entropy but its entropy has increased continually since the Big Bang. Although it is possible to reduce the entropy of a closed system, for example by cooling, it is only possible for the entropy of the overall universe to increase. Thus, time may be linked to the entropy of the universe - it must forever go forwards and increase.