On Time – Basudeba Mishra
Recently, much is being discussed in scientific circles regarding the nature of time. General Relativity and Quantum theories have notions of time that are not compatible with each other. A theory proposed to unite both – a bunch of string theories – provide a range of models that describe a universe in 11 dimensions (none of which have been discovered even after a century), but have not made any testable predictions to be tested by experiments to figure out which model could be acceptable. An alternate theory called Loop Quantum Gravity appears to eliminate time itself. Some other approaches also appear to remove time as a fundamental aspect of reality.
It all started with Einstein, who said time as the fourth dimension without defining dimension and defining time as the “the position of the small hand of my watch”. A clock is used for measuring time. But it is not time like a balance is not the grocery it measures. The motion of the hands of the clock are like the different weights. They can be defective due to various reasons. But that will not affect the weight of the grocery except giving a wrong reading. Similarly, clocks can give wrong reading, but it doesn’t affect time.
We perceive objects because of electromagnetic radiation, where the electric field, the magnetic field and their direction of motion are mutually perpendicular. Hence, we have three mutually perpendicular dimensions, which are the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify the spread in mutually perpendicular directions (arbitrarily described as length, breadth and height), and retain the form of the object (radiation which we see) invariant under mutual transformation i.e., if length is changed to breadth or height and vice versa
(विस्तारस्य यथैवार्थः आयामेन प्रकाशितः । तथारोहसमुच्छ्रायौ पर्यायवाचिनौ मतौ ॥
परिमाणानुसारेण व्यवहृति क्षितौ नराः ॥ विश्वकर्मा ॥).
Time doesn’t fulfill this definition. Hence, time is not a dimension.
What we see (radiation reaching our eyes) is different from what we feel through touch (the object emitting radiation). Such objects can move in forward and backward directions along the x, y, and z, axes. Time has progression of events from “past” to “future” through “present” in only one – forward – direction. Consider a glass falling from a table and breaking into pieces. We can reassemble the pieces and put the glass on the table. That will be forward in time. Unlike we go forward and then backward in space, the broken glasses automatically doesn’t assemble and jump up to the table backwards in time. No one ever has seen this. The direction of time is never transformed backwards.
In algebra, we use negative numbers. So why can’t we use negative sign to depict numbers? But we use geometrical space-time for practical applications. Time-reversal symmetry presupposes a direction of time and that is observed only as unidirectional. You can reverse velocity, but that will only be forward in time. There is no time reversal symmetry.
Time is considered as the aspect of the physical universe, which, at a given place, orders the sequence of events. Also, a designated instant in that sequence is called time – technically known as an epoch. But does it exist? If so, does it have a physical presence? Can we use it in equations?
Everything we perceive is characterized by nomenclature, form and interactions. These can be divided into two categories: those having a physical existence called Aabhu (आभु) and those without physical existence called Abhwa (अभ्व). All the objects we see and use like humans, animals, stars, pen, car, food, bed, etc., have physical existence. But terms like number, dimensions, density, color, mass, charge, parity, etc., have no separate existence from the object itself. They are apparent. These are special aspects of the object that differentiates it from others. Time, space, etc., belong to this category of Abhwa.
Mathematics is the quantitative aspect of reality, which is the process of conversion of one to many and vice-versa as well as many to other many through linear or non-linear accumulation and reduction. Number is a characteristic of all objects by which we differentiates between similars (द्रव्येषु भिन्नत्वव्यवहारः पृथक्तातिरिक्तभेदवशात् संख्यावशाच्च). An object can be perceived only through the differentiation of its inherent structure that determines its form and interaction with others, and its position from other similar objects (आन्तरालिकावयव संस्थानगतभेद). Number is the cause for the perception of differentiation among objects (भेदगणनाकत्मकत्वम्). When we cannot distinguish the object from other similar objects, we call the object as one (एक). If we can distinguish, we call them many (वहु). Many can be 2,3,4, ….n (not infinity) depending upon the quantum of sequential differentiation.
Infinity is like one – without similars, but with one difference. While the dimensions of one are clearly perceptible, the dimensions of infinity are not perceptible from any direction. There are four infinities: space, time, coordinates and information. Infinities coexist. Hence, they exist as space-time.
Time has no physical existence, but is inferred from our concepts of sequence and interval (परापरव्यतिकर), simultaneity or otherwise (यौगपद्य–अयौगपद्य), and slow and fast (चिरक्षिप्र). Each of these perceptions are different. There must be some cause for such perceptions. That cause is called time (काल). Everything comes into existence (time of creation or origin) and finally gets destroyed (time of cessation or destruction) only in time. Hence time is said to be a cause for the existence of everything.
Time is perceived uniformly in everything. Hence, it is one – without similars. Hence we can assign number (one) to time. Since the perception of simultaneity or otherwise is uniformly perceived everywhere, it is not many. Based on the difference in the intervals between events by which we perceive time, we can assign duration (quantity) to time. Thus, we can connect time segments or separate them. Since time has these characteristics, it is an object. Since it has no beginning and no end, it is eternal. We use digital segments of this analog time.