In how many directions can time move?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the nature of time, specifically exploring whether time can move in multiple directions and how it is conceptualized—either as a substance within space or as a consequence of distance. The scope includes theoretical perspectives and conceptual clarifications.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question the notion of time moving at all, suggesting that time does not move.
  • One participant proposes that time is a dimension of four-dimensional spacetime, where its measurement can vary based on the observer's relative motion.
  • There is a suggestion that future physics may require a different description of time and space than currently accepted.
  • A request for more helpful responses indicates a desire for deeper engagement with the topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not appear to reach a consensus on the nature of time, with multiple competing views and unresolved questions regarding its movement and conceptualization.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the nature of time and its relationship to space remain unexamined, and the discussion reflects varying interpretations of time's dimensionality.

Daveman20
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Question above. Also, do you imagine time as a substance inside space, or, like a consequence of distance? How do you think of it?
 
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Time does not move.
 
Was looking for a more helpful response
 
In physics, it is assumed that all processes of nature take place in a four-dimensional spacetime. In this spacetime it is possible to measure lengths in all directions, e.g. in the time direction. As a consequence of relativity theory, what is measured by one observer as a length in the time dimension, will by another observer be measured as a length in both time and space, if that second observer is moving relatively to the first observer.

So time itself is a dimension of spacetime, not something that is described as a quantity that moves in some other space. Although I wouldn't be surprised myself if in the future it turns out that time and space must be described in a different manner than it is today in order for physics to explain the world around us.

Torquil
 

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