Philosophy: Time Essay, Research Paper

Time is defined as a measured or measurable period, a

continuum that lacks spatial dimensions. This broad

definition lacks the simple explanation that humans are

searching for. There are many scientists, philosophers, and

thinkers who have tried to put time into understanding

terms. The aspects of time that we can understand are only

based on what we can perceive, observe, and calculate.

Every day we look at our watches or clocks. We plan our day

around different times of the day. Time tells us when to

eat, when to sleep, and how long to do things for. If time

were based on these simple terms, then this mysterious

enigma would not be in debate. There are the issues of

space and time; what is the relationship of the two? Is

time relative, or absolute? What makes time seem to go

faster in some instances, and slower in others? Does the

speed of time change, or is it all in our heads? In the

following paper, I will discuss the meaning of time

perceived and theorized by two of the greatest minds of

human kind. Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking have

expanded the understanding of time to another level. Their

ideas and opinions are what brought us to a higher

understanding of the earth and the universe. In the

following paragraphs, this paper will encompass these ideas,

and try to find a focus of understanding of this thing we

call time.

First I will address the question, did time have a

beginning? I don?t think that anyone can explain the

postulate that time has always been in existence. The

problem with this, is that we have no scientific evidence or

theories which can support this argument. Certainly, we

can?t just accept this spiritual idea. There had to have

been a beginning of time. The most acceptable explanation

of the beginning of time, is the relationship between space

and time. When space and the universe began, the existence

of time also began. This theory is well-known as the Big

Bang Theory. About fifteen billion years ago, the universe

was comprised of very hot compressed gas, as a fireball.

This is contrary to the idea of the universe beginning as a

lump of matter somewhere in the void of space. Matter was

created as a result of the Big Bang. Space and time was

also created. So, with these ideas, time had a beginning.

Looking at it a different way, in the early universe, the

normal concept of time is uncertain. Our accepted

perceptions, and calculations of time can?t be explained all

the way back to the Big Bang. There is no way to define

time in that era. This is another way that time has a

beginning; as far back as we can calculate. Space-time

began at the same time. According to Hawking, you can?t

look at the universe using general relativity without

finding a big bang or something similar to that at the very

beginning.

So what does time mean to people now? Time is

different as you go through time zones. Everyone has their

own perception of time. Nobody is ever on the same

schedule, doing things exactly like another person. Even to

go as far as other galaxies and planets, time cannot be

existing on the same terms. In short, time is not absolute.

In the space-time continuum, space bends whenever there is a

mass. It?s kind of like a bowling ball hitting a

trampoline. When it hits, it makes a ?dent?. This is a

part in the space-time continuum which is different

everywhere you go. The universe is expanding. The universe

continues to expand, and the galaxies have continued to move

away from each other ever since. This is why time is not a

constant term. Nothing is the same, and there is no

absolutes. Quantum Physics even shows that time is not an

absolute. If you know where an electron is, you can?t know

it?s speed. If you know what the speed of an electron is,

then you can?t know its position. If there are two chairs,

and you see someone sitting in one, when you turn away, you

can?t be sure that he or she is still there. You also can?t

be sure that they are not in two chairs at the same time, or

what point in time they are in them. This all leads up to

Einstein?s theory that time is relative.

A lot of Einstein?s theories of time relate to the

speed of light. He says that time slows down, as you

approach the speed of light. An experiment to support this

theory was done with two clocks. Two extremely accurate

atomic clocks were set to the same time. One was on the

ground as a constant, and the other was accelerated by being

flown in a plane. When the one in the plane came back, the

two clocks were compared and the one that was accelerated

showed to be a little behind. The difference in time was

not a lot, but was significant enough to prove his theory.

This can be explained in a couple ways. First of all, your

initial reference point would be traveling at a lot slower

rate, so from an observers point of view, time would stay

the same. But if one was traveling at the speed of light,

then he or she would experience time slowing down, because

from their point of view, they would be younger compared to

everyone else. Time only exists as we perceive it to be.

What is unknown, is why time is perceived differently

from one person to the next. One might be sitting in a

classroom setting, when time seems to go by very slow, and

seems like an eternity is passing. In other instances, time

may seem to go by very fast, usually when we are doing

enjoyable activities. Every year of your life you may have

noticed the time going by faster. You may have at one time

caught yourself saying, ?Where has the time gone?? So maybe

time is controlled by all of us on an individual basis.

Time certainly is relative, and could be centered around an

individual. The ?watched pot never boils? metaphor could be

true, whereas an individual can make time slow down or speed

up by themselves. Nobody really knows what time is, where

it?s been, or where it?s going.

Black holes may be able to explain the question of

where time is going. Black holes are collapsed stars with

extreme amounts of gravity, which light cannot even escape.

These black holes may disrupt the space-time continuum,

changing the properties of the universe. Most black holes

orbit around stars due to the fact that they once were a

star, and this may cause some problems for the neighboring

stars. If a black hole gets powerful enough it may actually

pull a star into it and disrupt the orbit of many other

stars. The black hole could then grow even stronger (from

the star’s mass) as to possibly absorb another. When a

black hole absorbs a star, the star is first pulled into the

Ergosphere, which sweeps all the matter into the Event

Horizon, named for it’s flat horizontal appearance and

because this happens to be the place where mostly all the

action within the black hole occurs. When the star is passed

on into the Event Horizon the light that the star endures is

bent within the current and therefore cannot be seen in

space. At this exact point in time, high amounts of

radiation are given off, that with the proper equipment can

be detected and seen as an image of a black hole. The point

in explaining black holes, is that it might explain about

the shaping of the universe. Their existence can change the

composition of the universe, which can in turn change space

and time.

Time is not easily explained or understood by anyone.

Einstein and Hawking have expanded their minds by coming up

with possible theories for the unknown. We can only observe

and postulate what we don?t know. We can theorize, and

calculate all we want, but I think it will always be an

unknown. The mysteries of the universe will in my opinion

be just that, a mystery.