mik
10th March 2012 - 05:43 PM
QUOTE (Robittybob1+Mar 9 2012, 05:47 PM)
Not all "nows" are the same so each is a snapshot in time.
Addressed to synthsin75 and Robittybob1,
Now is the present, everywhere, therefore there is no plural of now.
We all know that it takes sunlight 8+ minutes to reach earth, but *now is the present* both here and there... and, by extension, everywhere.
Relativity deals with who(frame of reference) sees what and when, so it speaks of my "now" being different than your "now" because of the distance between us (or between earth and sun.)
That works fine for calculations involving different frames of reference, but it doesn't make each locus in the cosmos have its own local "now," a different present depending on space between loci.
The "fabric of spacetime" is a *fabrication* used as a framework for calculations in relativity, but that does not make "it" an actual entity in the cosmos.
Space is still volume, however large, and time is still the concept of "that which elapses" as things move.
synthsin75
10th March 2012 - 06:24 PM
QUOTE (mik+Mar 10 2012, 11:43 AM)
Now is the present, everywhere, therefore there is no plural of now.
So are you claiming that there is no distinguishing present from past or future events? There is obviously a difference in the "now" perceived two seconds ago and the "now" currently perceived. This is the only sense in which all events cannot happen within the same now.
QUOTE
Relativity deals with who(frame of reference) sees what and when, so it speaks of my "now" being different than your "now" because of the distance between us (or between earth and sun.)
You don't seem to understand relativity. The
relativity of simultaneity deals with
observations from various reference frames. These rely on the finite speed of light, which will necessarily take different durations to reach different observers.
You should also note that the relativity of simultaneity doesn't violate causation, as one event which causes another will always be observed as happening before its effect, regardless of frame.
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