About Time

In the following article, I wish to explore the existence of time, or lack thereof. First of all, I must apologize for my shortage of scientific knowledge. However, I do have some thoughts on the subject of time. I would submit that time exists, but at the same time, in the larger scope of things, it does not.

Let us first examine how time is measured. A year is one orbit of the earth around the sun. A month was originally the orbit of the moon around the earth. Later on, the length of our months was altered to accommodate 12 months in a solar year. A day is one revolution of the earth on its own axis. Hours, minutes, and seconds are subdivisions of that “day”. The point is, we measure time according to the movement of objects in relation to one another, in the known universe.

Now let us consider the universe. The further we explore into space, the larger we find the universe to be. Much the same can be said for exploration into sub-atomic particles. We haven’t yet found a limit, at either end. My theory is that the universe is actually infinite. I can’t prove that. But then, no one can prove me wrong either.

Now let us consider infinity. A friend of mine used to say, ” Every point in an infinity is the centre”. In other words, you can’t really measure anything without a point of reference. How far is it to Los Angeles? That depends on where you start. Move the moon farther away or closer to the earth, and you will change the length of a month. Change the speed of the earth’s rotation(also measured by time and space) and you will change the length of a day. Measurement requires known points of reference. Infinity has no such points of reference; no “beginning, middle, and end”.

Now let us consider infinity’s cousin, eternity. If eternity can be defined as time without end, then it is also time without beginning. Or perhaps it is simply, the absence of time. If time is measured in relation to matter that we see in the universe around us, then how could we measure time in an infinity? There’s no question that time exists for us as a way of measuring our existence in the physical world around us. But if we consider the bigger, infinite, picture, time loses its meaning.