Essay Abstract

What is Time?. We do not have any clear and concise answer to this apparently simple question. This question has a history as long as that of mankind. Philosophers and scientists have been studying this question for several centuries and essentially remains unsolved. We still do not have a coherent picture of time and it's properties, in spite of several advances in our understanding in the science, philosophy, and in general our knowledge about the universe we live in. The subject of time is an active area of research, which is very clear when we look at the sheer amount of literature that has been collected over the past several years. Several questions comes to our mind when we look at the definitions of time. What is time? Can there be time without events?, Is time continuous or discrete?, Does time flow? Does it always flow in one direction (from the past to the future)? Is time reversible? Is time same for everyone and every where in this universe? Scientists have basically ignored the questions on time and generally holds a view wherein time is part of the four-dimensional continuum. Past, present and future events exists along the time dimension, which is just a one dimensional Real line. In fact, we can see that various properties of time progressively disappear as we move toward more fundamental physical theories. This essay attempts to present our current understanding of the nature of time from a scientific perspective. The primary focus is to address the question of whether science can answer the questions on time that we experience.

Author Bio

Currently working as a Software Architect for a major insurance company, has a Ph.D in Computer Science from I.I.T, Chennai, India. Has twenty years of experience, both in Management Consulting and in Information Technology. Has published papers primarily on algorithms and complexity related to parallel processor scheduling. Last several years has developed expertise in the area of Java and J2EE technologies, application of UML and XML in the development, monitoring and performance management of large scale, high availability applications Has been interested in physics, and has been working in the area of quntum computing and quantum gravity

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Hello Suresh,

It was agreeable for me to read your rigorous and deep essay that demonstrates a detailed knowledge of the whole set of the science involved in the problem of defining the nature of time.

But I find that at the end it lacks of a final proposition that, even not being rigourous, was daring to indicate a possible solution to the problem of nature of time. Probably that is what is excesive in my essay, being absent on the other hand the rigor and the unfolding knowledge of your one.

With my best whises.

Venerando.

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Thank you for your comments. I am trying to catch up with the postings. Will read and comment your essay. As to your comment on the final proposition - my answer is in the last paragraph of my essay, that whether soceince can explain what we expwrience about time still remains an open question.

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Dear Dr. Suresh,

I read your essay and liked it. You present a very succinct, but lucid and exhaustive history of time according to Physics. I appreciate your honesty and consideration for other areas than Physics, as you stated in the Introduction: “This should not be construed as any reflection on the philosophical, religious and/or cultural aspects as being less important, but is purely due to the lack of expertise on the part of this author in such areas.”, and I liked your mature and equidistant conclusion in the closing phrase.

Best regards,

Cristi Stoica

“Flowing with a Frozen River”,

http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/322

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