Scientists hypothesize that time does not exist

Nowadays, the concept of time is not only an intuitive way to measure the duration of events, but also an essential element in the mathematical description of physical systems. For example, we define the speed of an object as moving in space over a period of time. But some researchers believe that the Newtonian idea of ​​time as an absolute value that flows on its own, along with the idea that time is the fourth dimension of spacetime, is incorrect. They propose to replace these notions of time with others, more precisely corresponding to the true picture of the world: time, measuring the order of changes.

In two recent works (one has already been published and the second is about to arrive) in the journal Physics Essays, Amrit Sorley, David Fiscarletti, and Dusan Klinar from the Bistra Research Center in Ptuj (Slovenia), described in more detail that everything it means.
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Time dimension does not exist

These scientists explain their theory as follows:
We usually consider time to be an absolute physical quantity, which, moreover, is an independent variable (for example, t is often laid on the horizontal axis in graphs that demonstrate the evolution of a physical system). But in reality, we never measure t itself . We measure the properties of an object: frequency, speed, etc. In other words, there really is a change in the properties of an object and (figuratively) movement of a clock hand; and we compare the first to the second in order to measure the properties of the object. t itself is a mathematical value and does not exist in reality.

This point of view does not mean that time does not exist at all, but assumes that time has much more in common with space, and not with the idea of ​​absolute time. So far, it is believed that four-dimensional space-time consists of three dimensions of space and one dimension of time, but, according to scientists, it would be more correct to represent space-time as four dimensions of space. As they say, the universe is “timeless”.

In their last work, scientists write: "The Minkowski space is not 3D + T, but 4D." The point of view, according to which, time is a physical quantity, where material changes take place, has been replaced by a more convenient one, where time is simply the order of change of matter. Such a point of view is in better agreement with the real world, and gives more possibilities in describing instant physical phenomena: gravity, electrostatic interaction, information transfer in an EPR experiment — that is, those that occur directly in space.

As Amrit Sorley added, the roots of this idea come from Einstein himself:

Einstein said: “Time does not have an independent existence, except for the order of events by which we measure it. Time is the sequence of events: this is my conclusion. ”

In the future, scientists plan to explore the possibility that quantum space has three dimensions of space. As Sorley explained,

The idea of ​​time as the fourth dimension of space did not bring much success in physics and is now in conflict with the formal system of the special theory of relativity. We are currently developing our formal three-dimensional quantum space system based on Planck’s work. It seems that the Universe is three-dimensional from the macro to the micro level, even to the Planck length, which is formally three-dimensional. In this three-dimensional space there is no "shortening" or "time dilation". In reality, there is the fact that the rate of change of matter is “relative” in the understanding of Einstein.

Numerical order in space

Researchers give an example of this concept of time, imagining that a photon is moving between two points in space. The distance between these two points consists of the Planck distance, each of which is the smallest distance a photon can travel. (the basic unit of this movement is Planck time)
When a photon moves to the distance of Planck, it moves only in space, and not in absolute time, the researchers explain. A photon can be represented as moving from point 1 to point 2, and its position at point 1 is the “before” position at point 2, by analogy with the numbers, where 1 stands before 2, that is, in numerical order. Which is not equivalent to the temporal order, because the number 1 does not exist before the number 2 in time, this is only possible numerically.

As the researchers explain, not using time as the fourth dimension of space-time, the physical world can be described more accurately. As a physicist Enrico Prati is noted in a recent study, Hamiltonian dynamics (equations in classical mechanics) are clearly defined without the concept of absolute time. Other scientists note that the mathematical model of space-time does not correspond to physical reality, and suggest that the timeless “state space” is a more accurate definition.

Scientists also investigated the falsifiability of the two concepts of time. The concept of time as the fourth dimension of space, i.e. the fundamental physical entity in which the experiment takes place - can be falsified by an experiment in which time does not exist. An example is the Coulomb experiment, since mathematically it uses only space. In the concept of time, where time is the numerical order of changes occurring in space, space is the fundamental system in which the experiment takes place. Although this concept can be falsified, experiments in which time (measured by the clock) is not the order of material change are simply not known.

Sorley said that

The Newtonian theory of absolute time is not falsifiable, since you cannot prove it or disprove it, you just have to believe it.

and chose to add:

The theory of time as the fourth dimension of space is falsifiable, and we proved it in our previous article. There is reason to believe that this theory is wrong. On the basis of experimental data, time is what we measure by hours: by hours we measure the order of material changes, i.e. movement in space.

How is the mosaic going

The researchers also briefly explained how this theory fits in with our sense of time. Many neurological studies have confirmed that we have a sense of past, present, and future. These data led to the assumption that the brain represents time using an “internal clock” (model pacemaker-accumulator).
However, some recent studies have appealed this traditional view, and it is believed that the brain represents time in a spatially distributed way: by detecting and activating various nerve connections. Although we perceive events occurring in the past, present, or future, these concepts may simply be part of the psychological framework in which we experience changes in space.

Finally, the researchers explain that this viewpoint of time does not look encouraging for time travelers.

Sorley noted:

From our point of view, time travel in the past and the future is not possible. You can travel only in space and time as the order of this movement.

The translation of the original from PhysOrg is made by request of workers. ;)
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