Is Time Slowing Down? Scientists Weigh In

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concept of time potentially slowing down, as suggested by various articles and theories. Participants explore the implications of this idea, its relationship to universal expansion, and the speed of light, while engaging with both theoretical and conceptual aspects of the topic.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express curiosity about the claim that time is slowing down and question the validity of this idea based on the articles shared.
  • One participant suggests that the concept of time slowing down seems more reasonable than the notion of dark energy.
  • Concerns are raised regarding the lack of clarity in the articles about what it means for time to "slow down" and how this could be observed.
  • Another participant argues that changing the speed of light is not feasible, as it would imply changes in other fundamental aspects of physics, and asserts that the speed of light has remained constant over the last 30 years.
  • There is a proposal that even if the speed of light were to slow down, the constant "c" would still be defined as 186,000 miles/second, suggesting a distinction between the universal speed limit and the speed of light itself.
  • A participant references a paper discussing the universe's embedding in hyperspace and suggests that the proper time of the universe is slowing down, raising concerns about the clarity of the theory and its implications for measuring time.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the validity of the claims regarding time slowing down or the implications of changing the speed of light. Multiple competing views and uncertainties remain throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express confusion over the definitions and implications of time slowing down, as well as the relationship between this concept and universal expansion. There are also concerns about the clarity and rigor of the theoretical frameworks being discussed.

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http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/01/scientist-says.html - Time slowing down
http://www.opfocus.org/index.php?topic=story&v=8&s=4 - Light slowing down

I read these articles some time ago. I was just wondering if anyone else has put any thought into this. Anyone have any reason why this cannot be true?
 
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Interesting stuff! I'm disappointed that no one has commented...c'mon, people...

To me, the slowing of time seems more sensible than dark energy.
 
In the first link, not enough information is given. What does it mean for time to "slow down" yet allow us to see the effects of it? In any case, we still have the issue that the universal expansion rate has changed and was not always speeding up.

Second link: see other discussions on this forum. You can't just change the speed of light. If you changed things to make the measured speed of light different, other things would change too. It certainly hasn't changed in the last 30 years!
 
Even if the speed of light slowed down "c" would still be 186,000miles/second, its just that we would have to separate the universal speed limit from the speed of light.
 
Interesting. I think I have some sort of idea.
 
JDługosz said:
In the first link, not enough information is given. What does it mean for time to "slow down" yet allow us to see the effects of it? In any case, we still have the issue that the universal expansion rate has changed and was not always speeding up.

Here's the original paper. I don't understand it, but it seems to be saying that the universe is embedded in hyperspace with coordinate ξ and the proper time of the universe T(ξ) is slowing down with ξ. It gives a proof that loss of time has to be smooth (in the sense of a smooth graph) so we would experience it as a slowing down of time rather than just having time stop. Slowing down of time is measurable as an acceleration of expansion.

If that's a correct reading, it's extremely sloppy to change coordinates without telling anyone. Then again they'd probably slap me for calling their theory hyperspace :-/

http://prd.aps.org/abstract/PRD/v77/i2/e027501
 

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