Post by CIVILISON on Apr 28, 2009 13:02:05 GMT -5
-SPACE AND TIME-
Think about a few things for a second. Space and Time, what kind of thoughts does this concept stimulate in your mind? In reality, you are partaking in space and time right now, and so am I. The thing is, life is placed upon an (infinite) stretch of space and time upon which all things on earth and the universe will be manifested. It seems that space and time makes life possible by providing dimensions where objects have in the first place their physical structure and then a vacuum in which they will travel at different speeds, angels, durations, intervals etc.
The earth is suspended in space. It is held and affected orbitally by the gravitational force of the sun. Gravity is defined as the attractive influence/force that all objects exert upon themselves. This was Isaac Newton’s reasoning. Eistein explained gravity as the result of the curvature of spacetime – general relativity.
Space and time is the universal arena in which all things occur. Space is defined as a fundamental structure of the universe, a set of dimensions in which objects are separated and located, have size and shape and a dimension through which they can move. From another perspective, space is simply an abstract mathematical conceptual structure that humans interpreted intellectually and scientifically to understand the universe. It is an idea, a fundamental blueprint upon which we can calculate and quantify objects in terms of their shape, speed, angle, numbers etc. The same principles are applied to the concept of time. Time is a set of dimensions where events occur in sequence and time itself can be measured. On the other hand, again, time is just an intellectual structure in which we can calculate the duration of events. And although time exists and provides duration to events it is not itself measured.
It is interesting to notice how time and space are interdependent. Simply, objects take up space but require time to move around. Therefore, space and time are not necessarily separate concepts but two concepts tied into one equation. Stephen Hawking mentions in his book “A Brief History of Time” that “an event is something that happens at a particular point in space and at a particular time.” It’s a twofold program of the universe that allows events to take place in life. Together, Space-Time (also called the Space-Time Continuum) form a four-dimensional reality, a continuum having three spatial coordinates (height, width, length) and one temporal coordinate (time). It is simply the everyday world that we perceive, partake and live in.
To make it easier for the reader to understand the concept of space-time, I provide a basic graph which visually demonstrates just that. Below you will notice a drawing which contains 3 spatial coordinates (height, length and width) and one temporal coordinate. Space is represented by the 3D h,l,w axes and time is represented by the two triangles that form an hourglass. The ‘hourglass’ contains the future, the present and the past which is stretched throughout the dimensions of space. The moment of ‘Now’ is important because it represents a point in reality that is preceded by what happened before and a point that will continue with future events. In other words, the past represents all events that will lead to the now and the future represents the events in reality that follow the now. It is easy to notice the relation between the past and the future and the now. These three are in essence the same event or the same time of event or occurrence. The now is the only thing that exists but its path of evolution leaves past events and produce never ending possibilities for future happenings. It seems to be an innate anatomy of the universe, an illusion of time.
This graph is a symbol of reality. Anything that happens in life is manifested within space and time. In our everyday life we use up space and take time. The atoms within our bodies take up space and time. Anything that travels, moves, anything that exists for that matter is confined within the dimension of space and time. This graph is just a simple way to visually illustrate the fundament of the physical universe. Now is the moment of life. Space and time is a blueprint for life.
Even though space-time is a scientific calculation, it can be also perceived as a metaphysical idea or rule. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with explaining the ultimate nature of reality/life. Space-time is an everyday reality that we experience. It has deep scientific connotations but for many people who don’t get to study its scientific side simply experience space and time as a part of their every day life. Therefore, metaphysically speaking space-time is an abstract imperceptible layout or patter or design or rule for all things natural to abide by and follow order in the universe. It is a metaphysical way of organizing the universe. But maybe most importantly it is a means through which life can be expressed. Without space-time, nothing would be even possible. It is the cause of life. All things are traveling in an (infinite?) universe and are constructed physically taking up physical space and traveling distances in the universe through time.
This idea can also be spiritually connected with the abstract ancient Chinese symbol of Yin-Yang. Space-time is a fundamental division of reality. Yin-yang is a symbol or rather a classification system for things that are usually opposite but serve a one, common function. Yin-Yang is fundamental in a way that it explains the very roots of all reality, conscious and subconscious. It is the visual aspect or image of everything that is real and alive, and everything that is real and alive is fundamentally dualized. Male and female, positive and negative electrical charges, north and south pole of the earth, day and night and countless other things. Time-space is just another dualized reality and although yin-yang represents space-time it is not everything that it represents because it represents everything else also. Space could be categorized as yang being the container of things and being so active in its nature. Time could be classified as yin being the more subtle, passive one. This is not absolute, it is just an idea. Space would be represented by a positive (+) and time would be represented by a negative (-) just and yang would be (+) and yin would be (-).
