Images of Time: Mind, Science, RealityHave you ever wondered about Time: what it is or how to discuss it? If you have, then you may have been bewildered by the many different views and opinions in many diverse fields to be found, such as physics, mathematics, philosophy, religion, history, and science fiction novels and films. This book will help you unravel fact from fiction. It provides a broad survey of many of these views, these images of time, covering historical, cultural, philosophical, biological, mathematical and physical images of time, including classical and quantum mechanics, special and general relativity and cosmology. This book gives you more than just a review of such images. It provides the reader a basis for judging the scientific soundness of these various images. It develops the reader's critical ability to distinguish Images of Time in terms of its contextual completeness. Differentiating between metaphysical images (which cannot be scientifically validated) and those that could, in principle, be put to empirical test. Showing that mathematical and classical mechanical images are more complete, and genuine quantum mechanics based images have the greatest degree of contextual completeness. Through the use of a simple algorithm, the reader can decide the classification of any of the images of time discussed in this book. These distinctions are of particular importance in this day and age, when we are flooded by a plethora of competing Images of Time. Many of these have no scientific basis or empirical support or content. This book will be of value not only to philosophers, scientists and students, but also to the general reader interested in this fundamental topic, because it introduces a method of distinguishing between science fiction and science fact. |
Contents
1 | |
2 Observers and time | 14 |
3 Subjective images of time | 26 |
4 Cultural images of time | 42 |
5 Literary images of time | 52 |
6 Objective images of time | 59 |
7 Mathematical images of time | 70 |
8 Illusionary images of time | 89 |
17 Special relativity | 171 |
18 Generalized transformations | 187 |
19 General relativistic time | 201 |
20 Time travel | 214 |
21 Imaginary time | 226 |
22 Irreversible time | 235 |
23 Discrete time | 239 |
24 Time and quanta | 248 |
9 Causal images of time | 96 |
10 Physics and time | 102 |
11 Biological time | 109 |
12 The dimensions of time | 113 |
13 The architecture of time | 122 |
14 Absolute time | 133 |
15 The reparametrization of time | 148 |
16 Origins of relativity | 160 |
25 Temporal correlations | 258 |
26 Time reversal | 265 |
27 Quantized spacetime | 273 |
28 Epilogue | 279 |
Appendix | 281 |
289 | |
301 | |
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2016 by Oxford absolute apparatus architecture arrow assertion assumed atoms Block Universe causal set causality chorus chronon classical mechanics clock concept contextually incomplete coordinates defined denoted detector discrete discussed in Chapter dynamical Einstein endophysical Euclidean evolution existence exophysical experiment Feynman four-dimensional frame F function fundamental Galilean transformations George Jaroszkiewicz 2016 given gravitation Hamiltonian Hilbert space human images inertial frame integral interpretation laboratory Lagrangian laws of physics lightcone line element Lorentz transformation manifold mathematical measured metaphysical metric tensor Michelson–Morley experiment Minkowski spacetime moving Newton Newtonian objects observer’s operator parameter particle perspective photons physicists predictions primary observer principle properties Published in 2016 quantized quantum mechanics real numbers reality relativistic reparametrization Schrödinger Schwarzschild Schwarzschild radius spatial special relativity speed of light SUOs temporal theorists theory timelike trajectory variables velocity wave whilst worldline zero