present time

R

recoil

New Member
present time

Is there a present time?
the present only lasts for a trillion trillion-trillion-trillionth of a second ,is it possible to measure any less? there is only is past and future .But IF time travel was possible do you think it would be limited to the past or if you travel into the future is there a present time from which you can go no further ?



ummm i think thats what i was trying to ask :cry:
 
present time

Hmmm this figure keeps popping up on here. It does seem much more pertinent in this context then the other contexts I have seen it.

The smallest measurable unit of time is Planck's time. Which is 3.3 x 10-44 sec.
Now a trillionth of a second is 10^-12 a thrillionth of a trillionth is 10-24. So stick on another trillionth and a 10 billionth of that, and you will have the smallest unit of time. A very short time indeed.
http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae598.cfm
Question

What is the smallest amount of time?

Asked by: Vladan

Answer

The smallest unit of time (time quanta) is the time it takes for light to travel Planck's length. (Planck's time.)
Since distance/relativity stop and quantum mechanics take over at Planck's length, actions across lengths less than this boundary are meaningless.

The fastest speed attainable is the speed of light (apparently).

So, if we take the smallest length and divide it by the fastest speed, we get the time it takes for the fastest thing to travel the shortest distance. Times shorter than this amount simply do not make sense.

SO:

Planck's length is about 1 x 10-34 m
Speed of light is about 3 x 108 m/sec

Planck's time is about 3.3 x 10-44 sec

Click to expand...
 

present time

Thinking about it, it is rather funny and brings to mind the saying 'There is no time like the present'

Perhaps it was meant in this context?
 

present time

Time takes a moment. That would be it...one moment. Actually, you are thinking in the past, because it takes TIME for the nerves to transmit what you recieve through your eyes to your brain, thus you can never see the future unless you see something 2 times the lag of your nerves in the future.
 
present time

Yes, there is a present time. You've got one right now. It just passed. What will you do with your future present times is what's important. iooqxpooi, for the delay you're talking about, you'd never experience a "present time", but I disagree. We have the biological units we have. They are imperfect. But we can make do with what we have. While your thinking may be correct in an absolute sense, it is impractical. How can we navigate if we are continually in the past? How could you have made your post, if all you have is the past? You can't. So from a theoretical point you may be right, but from a practical point we have a present, and always will. Just my thoughts.

Cary
 
present time

What you see is the past, etc. You DO things after a lag, but very much in the present. It just takes time to realize them, and thus you realize them after they become the past.
 
present time

I have theorized on this topic for several years now. I never came up with an answer that really suibted me (or that could make for a decent post in a forum) however, I do wonder if maybe some kind of malfunction in this perfect system would cause utter chaos. Meaning if a second in the present was skipped over/ overlapped with the future...some how didn't move according to plan, would the whole universe become non-existant?
Chris
 

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