Space and Time in Physics
There were thinkers and scientists who thought space is real whilst time is imaginary in a discussion I once try to comprehend. And honestly, it vexed me, because Newton's idea is already proven otherwise if they even rely on that. And here I am want to elaborate it. Urgent? Possibly. And nonetheless, I would like to.
Need to Know
Physics does not require us to choose between the reality of spacetime, its relativity, and its mathematical complexity as though only one of these descriptions could be true. Rather, each may disclose a different aspect of the same physical structure. This view is compatible with Wallace and Timpson’s proposal of “spacetime state realism,” which they define as “a view which takes the states associated to spacetime regions as fundamental” (Wallace & Timpson, 2010). This proves that spacetime is real, relative, and it is complex. However, that does not make one any less true than the other by separating them and neglecting the one that feels more or too abstract.
The Truth of Spacetime: Here is Why
Speed is the ultimate proof of time and space bonds. It is not merely a property of time or space per se, but the direct relationship of movement across space over a duration of time, meaning neither can be calculated in isolation.
What is fascinating and relevant, however, is Zeno's paradox. It is the idea that movement seems impossible because you must complete infinitely many smaller steps before reaching your destination. We see this clearly in the simplest thing, e.g., walking.
Think about walking 2 meters toward a door: Zeno argued you can never reach it because you must first cross half the distance (1 meter), then half of that (0.5 meters), and so on into countable infinity ‘regardless of speed.’
To get to the door, you must first complete an infinite number of smaller tasks:
- Task 1: Walk 1 meters (halfway to the door).
- Task 2: Walk 0.5 metres (half of the remaining distance).
- Task 3: Walk 0.25 metres (half of that remaining distance).
- Task 4: Walk 0.125 metres (half again).
- Task 5: Walk 0.0625 metres (and again).
And because you can always split the remaining distance in half, the sequence looks like this:
- 1 + 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 ...
Because Zeno thought an infinite number of spatial distances required an infinite amount of time. He missed the fact that as the distance shrinks, the time required to cross it shrinks at the exact same rate.
Modern physics resolves this puzzle today by moving past Zeno's logic through calculus and the concept of limits, which rigorously prove how an infinite series of fractions resolves into a finite, measurable truth, showing that these infinite spatial steps occur within a perfectly normal, finite amount of ‘time.’
Consequently, I suppose time is physically dependent on speed, because high velocities literally alter the passage of time, whilst space and time themselves are locked in a fluid (spacetime), inseparable relationship that Zeno completely ignored by treating them as static, separated concepts back then.
Zeno, however, did not separate space and time accidentally; he separated them intentionally to create a philosophical trap, utilising geometrical thinking by treating time as invisible, ticking in oblivion, like an unknown separate observer.
Ironically, you always know that we can jump rather than walk. So it is not half of distance in the first task; rather, it is already a 2 metre or even 3 metre jump!
Absolution: Physics and Metaphysics
We studied this matter through physics discipline's perspective in science, whilst absolute time and space are metaphysical, because they belong to the realm of ontology (the philosophical study of the nature of being) rather than empirical science. They are ideas we use to conceptualise existence, rather than entities we can physically touch or calculate. Nevertheless, calling them metaphysical does not place them entirely beyond scientific assessment: physics can examine the consequences of theories that assume or reject them (Wallace & Timpson, 2010).
Ergo, "Space" as in rooms and "Time" as in clocks are not the real space and time; they are just avatars for the absolute form of spacetime. We only taste a very little of them.