Time-A mystery that continued from Newton To Einstein

We live in a world which is governed by time,where every tick of the clock takes us into a newer world of uncertainties,where our experiences teach us that our past is different from the future,future seems to present us with a wealth of possibilities and opportunities while our past is bound of things that has already occurred and are immutable.

The Mystery of time 

If I would have asked you to define TIME then I would have got an answer somewhat similar to the above paragraph.But is it all the concept of time???Definitely it's not.Time in itself is a Million Dollar question because everyone of us experience it but only a handful of us can actually say what it is.

Time is among such things which we are most familiar with yet it is the least understood concept which humanity has ever encountered. Time is an illusion,it is not that what it appears.And the reasons why it appears an illusion are Misconceptions.We live in a world full of misconceptions and illusions yet we take all these things as real without trying to find an reason behind it.

              The Major Misconceptions About Time

 1st misconception:

Most of us think that we live in a world of three dimensions (3-D) but there exists an extra dimension other than these three. In reality we live in a world of four dimensions (4-D) i.e. three dimensions of space and one dimension of time. So in a general perspective it is difficult for us to perceive an extra-dimension like time. The very reason for this  is our brain which has the capability of sensing these three dimensions (3-D) i.e. Length, Breadth and Height.

This is what we think we live in Three Dimensions i.e Length,Breadth and Height.

In Reality we live in a world of Four Dimension 

Three Dimensions of Space 

And 

One Dimension of Time

Space and time are interwoven in such a way that they cannot be separated from each other. So, they are combined to form space time. Everyone measures his or her experience on it and everything in our life occurs at a particular moment of time in the three dimensional space. And hence we cannot rule out the importance of time as a dimension. 

2nd misconception :

A common notion of understanding among people is that TIME ticks at a same rate throughout the world but this statement is not true. Time is not absolute in nature. Rather it is relative which means someone moving through space and time will experience it differently.

Let us visualize a scenario where you are travelling by a train to visit your friend’s house for summer vacations. Now if I would ask you a question whether the time on your watch and your friend’s watch is  the same?

An obvious answer would be 'YES' but let me tell you it will not be the same, your watch will tick at a slower rate as compared to the watch of your friend. It sounds a bit odd but it is the reality. So let us understand the reason for such a peculiar behavior, how does time slow down???

Now the answer to this riddle is 'MOTION' ,"motion affects Time". When we are in motion, our clock will tick at a slower rate as compared to a clock which is at rest. Motion causes the time inside the on board of the train to flow at a slower rate than for those people who are waiting at the station.

To visualize this let’s take a 'Light Clock’ which bounces a beam of light from one mirror to another mirror and one cycle makes one tick of the clock.

Lets analyse the light clock in two frame of references

• Firstly from the frame of reference of someone inside a moving vehicle.i.e.inside a moving train

            -For someone inside the running train it will appear as if the light beam is bouncing vertically up and  down.

Light beam bouncing vertically up and down

                                                       

• Secondly from the frame of reference of someone who is standing outside on embankment and watching that 'Light clock' which is inside the moving train.

             -For someone outside on the embankment it will appear as if the light beam traces a V shaped path  due to the vertical moment of light beam along with the horizontal movement of train. 

Light beam follows a V shaped path covering some extra distance

So both these observers, one who is inside the train and the one outside the train will experience time at different rates which infers one thing that both clocks are not ticking at a same rate. This means any one of the clock is running slower, now if we see we will find that clock in motion ticks slower because it has to cover a greater distance to complete one tick of the clock as compared to a clock which is at rest. As a result we find that TIME doesn't tick at the same rate throughout the world.


The whole concept has been explained in this documentary "A journey Through Space & Time"