Is time continuous or discrete?

[Ginkgo]

What is TIME?

Time is simply the occurrence of an event.

If there is not an event. Then there is not time. Not an electron spinning, a photon emitting...etc

TIME...reversed...EMIT

http://www.androcies.com/brd_matter1.html

If we are talking in terms of a theory of quantum gravity then I think time at the Planck scale must be discrete. No one knows for sure, so it is just an opinion. See my post on the next page.

[WanderingLands]

Time is just a measurement of change. It is not absolute, and it is not part of space-time, and is not a spatial dimension either, which means that time is neither continuous nor discrete.

[K1Barin]

But what if the same message was written on paper, with a pen, in cursive script?

I think before keyboard or paper, even when we talk or think the words are themselves discrete. Especially, words like "discrete" and "continuous" are OPPOSITE to each other. Two opposite things are for sure discrete, thus one can say that the universe is discrete. When the universe is discrete, events happen discretely, and discrete events happen in discrete times.

K1

Distinctions between discrete and continuous are, I think, better represented by the terms "digital" and "analog," as referring to digital vs. analog computers. Feel free to use whatever terminology you are comfortable with, and I'll do the same, so long as we understand the distinctions to which they refer.

Can you define what you mean by a discrete event? A digital event is, I would say, the change of states in a binary (two-state) device, as an electronic flip-flop changing from 0 volts to 2 volts.

Can you define what you mean by a discrete time? For a digital computer that would be the maximum amount of time required for a digital event to occur; with an 800mhz clock, that would be about 0.3 nanoseconds.

Greylorn

Thank you for consideration.
What I am trying to say from myself is that opposite items can not be continuation of each other or analog. Presence of opposite items in anything proves that that thing is digital. And digital and analog are themselves opposite of each other.

K1

[petm1]

A photon is continuous in space yet a discrete part of time, the Earth on the other hand is continuous in time discrete in space. You need both space and time to explain reality, in space/time, the illusion is all in our minds.

[Greylorn Ell]

But what if the same message was written on paper, with a pen, in cursive script?

I think before keyboard or paper, even when we talk or think the words are themselves discrete. Especially, words like "discrete" and "continuous" are OPPOSITE to each other. Two opposite things are for sure discrete, thus one can say that the universe is discrete. When the universe is discrete, events happen discretely, and discrete events happen in discrete times.

K1

Distinctions between discrete and continuous are, I think, better represented by the terms "digital" and "analog," as referring to digital vs. analog computers. Feel free to use whatever terminology you are comfortable with, and I'll do the same, so long as we understand the distinctions to which they refer.

Can you define what you mean by a discrete event? A digital event is, I would say, the change of states in a binary (two-state) device, as an electronic flip-flop changing from 0 volts to 2 volts.

Can you define what you mean by a discrete time? For a digital computer that would be the maximum amount of time required for a digital event to occur; with an 800mhz clock, that would be about 0.3 nanoseconds.

Greylorn

Thank you for consideration.
What I am trying to say from myself is that opposite items can not be continuation of each other or analog. Presence of opposite items in anything proves that that thing is digital. And digital and analog are themselves opposite of each other.

K1

Beam me up Scotty. Then get to work recalibrating the ship's intelligent life detection monitors. At first this planet looked promising, but the forms you detected proved to be nothing more than poorly programmed philosopher 'bots.

[Ginkgo]

A photon is continuous in space yet a discrete part of time, the Earth on the other hand is continuous in time discrete in space. You need both space and time to explain reality, in space/time, the illusion is all in our minds.

I would agree that on the macro scale time does appear continuous to an observer, but things are very much different at the the micro level of reality.

The equations of quantum mechanics tells us that energy comes in specific discrete units. Apparently the thinking at the moment is that Einstein was correct in terms of space/time and the idea that gravity warps space/time. Joining quantum mechanics and special relativity gives rise to the possibility of quantum gravity and spin networks. I think the idea of "spin networks" was first proposed by Roger Penrose. I did make mention of Penrose, spin networks and orchestrated objective reduction in other posts.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, quantum loop gravity proposes that it is not just time than comes in discrete units, but space also comes in discrete units as well. In respect physicists can talk in terms of quantum mechanics, special relativity and gravity consistently using Planck scales.

[madera]

Time is just a measurement of change. It is not absolute, and it is not part of space-time, and is not a spatial dimension either, which means that time is neither continuous nor discrete.

Time is not an event, it is continuous. "time stands still for no one".
Change takes time. It is continuous. The stars come out at a special time, The universe is always moving, if it stops for a moment life would cease.
Time is a real phenomenon a continuous change through which we live.

[Ginkgo]

Time is just a measurement of change. It is not absolute, and it is not part of space-time, and is not a spatial dimension either, which means that time is neither continuous nor discrete.

Time is not an event, it is continuous. "time stands still for no one".
Change takes time. It is continuous. The stars come out at a special time, The universe is always moving, if it stops for a moment life would cease.
Time is a real phenomenon a continuous change through which we live.

Yes, I said in my above post time and space appears to us continuous in macro terms, but it is very much different at the Planck scale of things.

[WanderingLands]

Time is just a measurement of change. It is not absolute, and it is not part of space-time, and is not a spatial dimension either, which means that time is neither continuous nor discrete.

Time is not an event, it is continuous. "time stands still for no one".
Change takes time. It is continuous. The stars come out at a special time, The universe is always moving, if it stops for a moment life would cease.
Time is a real phenomenon a continuous change through which we live.

Time, you see, is measured in a cycle repeating beginning to end, and back to beginning. If Time really was continuous, then it would be measured in a straight line. However, everything always repeats itself in cycles, so Time cannot be continuous. I believe that there are other factors to how everything moves, such as will or force ~ maybe a conscious force, which makes everything a synchronicity. Time, on the other hand, is our measurement. It is a good measurement to keep, nonetheless, but it is not continuous as it is only a scale of changes.

[K1Barin]

After thinking more, I should say time is continuous just like space. But objects that exist in space are discrete, and events that happen in time are discrete also. My argument about continuous and discrete are themselves discrete, relates to objects and events. But space and time themselves have no limit on how fine they can get. In other words there is no finest unit of measurement for neither time nor space; they are continuous.

[petm1]

Can you define what you mean by a discrete time?

Try looking up discrete mathematics, of course, imme time like the numbers themselves is dimensionless.

The equations of quantum mechanics tells us that energy comes in specific discrete units.

Energy is what we are measuring using space and time to describe it.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, quantum loop gravity proposes that it is not just time than comes in discrete units, but space also comes in discrete units as well

I just think that the center connection we all feel is temporal in nature and that Planck is a relative scale that is dilating in time static only in the present.

But space and time themselves have no limit on how fine they can get.

Post big bang energy in all of its forms is what we count as existence and accounts for a continuous space/time broken into discrete parts.

[Ginkgo]

Energy is what we are measuring using space and time to describe it.

If you are saying energy curves space/time, then this would be correct in my view.

[Ginkgo]

I just think that the center connection we all feel is temporal in nature and that Planck is a relative scale that is dilating in time static only in the present.

You would to expand on this for me to know what you are getting at.

[attofishpi]

What is TIME?

Time is simply the occurrence of an event.

If there is not an event. Then there is not time. Not an electron spinning, a photon emitting...etc

TIME...reversed...EMIT

http://www.androcies.com/brd_matter1.html

If we are talking in terms of a theory of quantum gravity then I think time at the Planck scale must be discrete. No one knows for sure, so it is just an opinion. See my post on the next page.

Yes i think ultimately 'time' is discrete ...since time only occurs where there is an event...and events must occur at the planck scale.
Im still waiting for your post on the next page...

[Ginkgo]

What is TIME?

Time is simply the occurrence of an event.

If there is not an event. Then there is not time. Not an electron spinning, a photon emitting...etc

TIME...reversed...EMIT

http://www.androcies.com/brd_matter1.html

If we are talking in terms of a theory of quantum gravity then I think time at the Planck scale must be discrete. No one knows for sure, so it is just an opinion. See my post on the next page.

Yes i think ultimately 'time' is discrete ...since time only occurs where there is an event...and events must occur at the planck scale.
Im still waiting for your post on the next page...

I think you are probably right using the term "events." These events occurring at the smallest scale fits in with a classical understanding of space/time. So I guess you can say that events occur at the Planck scale of things. This of course is just my opinion.

If the micro has any implication for the macro then the events we perceive are discrete. I also think I said in a previous post that both time and space are discrete. If this is the case then it allows for a joining of relativity, quantum mechanics and gravity.

Having said that, I think it is fair to point out this is just one theory proving an explanation for gravity, there are other theories. In the end the theory that survives will be the theory that can be demonstrated by way of the scientific evidence. In other words, actual observational evidence that support the theory.