Time and Atoms: Can they exist without each other

[Jesus Freak]

This is a question regarding time and atoms. My question is this: if one were able to stop the occurence of time, or maybe even reverse time, since the atom in forward time is constantly in motion, would the altering of this forward motion cause the atom to fall apart. Would the covalent bonds of certain elements fall apart, thus ending existence? Just a minor, unimportant question, but I would like to here some opinions.

 

[Dual Op Amp]

I think this is totally stupid. If time were going backwards, things, such as chemical reactions would also travel backwards. I think this one needs a little more thought.
This universe is composed of four dimensions.
Width, height, length, time.

 

[so-crates]

Well, this is pretty odd question. However, some cosmologists have actually pondered about this topic! You might want to check the Cosmology forum. Stephen Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time' is good beginners introdcution to these concepts.

 

[PhilipF]

as anti-particles such as the positron are supposed to be equivalent to particles of ordinary matter going backwards in time , wouldn't an atom of antimatter be doing just what you suggest , i.e. be considered as traveling in the reverse direction in time .In fact I read somewhere that they have made a small quantity of anti-hydrogen ,so is that the same as ordinary hydrogen traveling in the opposite direction through time?

 

[Brickster]

PhillipF,

Antihydrogen is the antimatter counterpart of hydrogen. Whereas the common hydrogen atom is composed of an electron and proton, the antihydrogen atom is made up of a positron and antiproton. There are real no differences with the reaction of matter/time as apposed to antimatter/time.

 

[PhilipF]

hello brickster
thanks for the reply , I admit I am thoroughly confused about this idea of antiparticles and time travel .I came across it when I read J .Gribbins book 'In Search of Schrodinger's Cat'
On p187 he says "The dramatic discovery Feynman made in 1949 is that the space-time description of a positron moving forward through time is exactly equivalent to the same mathematical description of an electron moving backward in time along the same track in the Feynman diagram '

So I suppose the question really should be 'Is this 'track' just a mathematical description or does it describe an actual particle going backwards through time ?'