I might not have explained myself correctly.

I can hold more than just one opinion, more than one theory. I consider time as a dimension. I consider time nonexistent.

Two theories I handle at the same time.

Why I still go for the traditional definition? It's useful, it's more complete, but it's not what I defend. What I defend however is incomplete and thus I post it here to contrast and perfect it.

I hope your intelligence may digest the information I am giving you, I believe, properly this time.

Time. The nonexistent dimension.

Ow, my feelings.

Yeah, that would be a good bestseller title, but as a theory is not worth a cent.

If you read my post, it says: two theories.

The existence of time is very vague, especially considering that there are multiple definitions, conflicting theories, and far more.

I understand about it being a dimension... which could mean it doesn't exist within this one, that's simple enough... Yet time has been shown to exist within the universe, it can even be affected by external forces, most notably gravity.

Exactly this. If you have any doubts about time existing, don't. If you think time doesn't exist, then the only logical explanation why you can remember what happened yesterday or last year or any thing that happened previous to now must be magic. :P

I guess it's time for good ol' rasomaso to break it down for you... :)

Yes, they are right. Time is slowing down and the galaxies are actually spreading at constant speed since Big Bang. They are wrong about one thing though, when the time reaches zero, the universe and time will not freeze. Instead the time will start going backwards and all the matter will eventually group itself back into the point of Big Bang. :)

It's like tennis if you think about it. ;) not sure if we're actually going forward in time now... :S

interesting read, i havn't talked about this type pf stuff since highschool physics (maybe a few times on AF or ToS :P). don't know if this is relevant but i know time slows down as you approach light speed, maybe it's got something to do with that? let's say space is growing exponentially, then time would be slowing down exponentially as well right? so if we use the tube model and apply this then eventually the universe will become flat, like a disc.... this is the end?

*ahh damn, i only read the first page so if this has already been ruled out then my bad -_-

No that's right. :)
Well the article says time is being lost from the universe which in turn makes space look like it's expanding exponentially. And yes, it will eventually turn into a flat disc and our Universe will end with time freeze altogether.

An explanation for time being lost could be that due to E=mc^2, time slows down near the speed of light to prevent the "speed barrier" from being broken. So if space is supposedly expanding faster than the speed of light, it could be just time slowing down preventing space expanding faster than the speed barrier thus making it look like space is expanding faster than light.

i just reread the first post and thought.... if time is exceeded by the expansion of space then it really doesn't end right? ofcourse, as we travel faster things will slow down so the tube growths slower in length but gets wideer in diameter. think of it as a vuvuzela (BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) it started at a steady rate but as the universe expanded galaxies moved apart faster and the diameter got bigger so taking time = x and space = y we get this

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nction.svg.png

and spin this 360 degress by the x aixs and we get

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/vuvuzela.jpg
:D

but eventually y/x will get so steep that it will reach a limit right? so at this point time will be significantly slower BUT it wont exactly stop.... hopefully this makes sense. but let's say we do all freese, then i'm sure whatever applies to us also applies to any other physical body in the universe so planets and stars will freeze as well? the internal layers (core, mantle etc.) will stop moving around and we will eventually reach a point were we are preserved but drift further apart for ever or maybe up to a point where the universe collapses on itself (if this is possible)

That's true apart from the fact that space expansion will stop as well due to time freezing. And yeah we'll be preserved like sorta snapshot of an instant of the universe.

Your diagrams really help in conveying the info. :)

oh right, because in highschool we discussed time slowing but the teacher never said it actually reaches a point where it freezes :P (he was a lazy teacher)..... could it be possible for time to go backwards? :O

Haha that's be so wacky! :D I dunno if it's possible or not but if time is in fact being lost from our universe it could go backwards who knows. :)

Well I don't think it has to stop, if the time slowing is accelerated, it could be just like that curve in the picture above vuvuzela, only it never reaches the Y axis, but it will be getting steeper forever. How can you even define speed of time? Speed is dependant on time, so you're like calculating the screenshot of universe by the time outside of our universe? If you entered our universe, the time would be flowing in the same speed to you as us. It's kind of irrelevant.

Time only exists as perceived by the observer. Time can speed up and slow down, we have a handful of neurons in our brain whose only job is to fire in sequence, as this pattern completes its cycle we perceive time. When we are in danger the pattern speeds up, and for us time appears to slow down, allowing us to perceive things we would not normally perceive. Experiments have been done, were people were given a digital display that flickers between two numbers faster then the eye can perceive. Then the subjects were thrown off a tower, on the way down they could read each number.

Therefore it is my opinion that time is only our way of viewing the universe around us, without those neurons we would have no concept of time.

so i was watching into the universe with stepehen hawking last night (a great documentary) and he was talking about the expanding universe. he said the universe will continue to expand and eventually gas particles will be so far apart that nothing can be created (cos you know, stars form from gas particles coming together and lalalalalala) OR in 20 billion years the universe will stop expanding and start to shrink, bringing everything back to where it all started, forming a blackhole that sucks everything and we are back to the point before the big bang.

i really recomend watching it (it was on discovery channel) :)