en.wikipedia.org › wiki › TimeTime - Wikipedia Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. What Is Time? A Simple Explanation By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Chemistry Expert Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. LEARN ABOUT OUR EDITORIAL PROCESS Updated on June 07, 2024 Time is familiar to everyone, yet it's hard to define and understand. Science, philosophy, religion, and the arts have different definitions of time, but the system of measuring it is relatively consistent. Clocks are based on seconds, minutes, and hours. While the basis for these units has changed throughout history, they trace their roots back to ancient Sumeria (Sumer, an area that is now southern Iraq). The modern international unit of time, the second, is defined by the electronic transition of the cesium atom. But what, exactly, is time? Scientific Definition of Time? What is time, exactly? Physicists define time as the progression of events from the past to the present into the future. Basically, if a system is unchanging, it is timeless. Time can be considered to be the fourth dimension of reality, used to describe events in three-dimensional space. It is not something we can see, touch, or taste, but we can measure its passage. The Arrow of Time Physics equations work equally well whether time is moving forward into the future (positive time) or backward into the past (negative time.) However, time in the natural world has one direction, called the arrow of time. The question of why time is irreversible is one of the biggest unresolved questions in science. One explanation is that the natural world follows the laws of thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics states that within an isolated system, the entropy of the system remains constant or increases. If the universe is considered to be an isolated system, its entropy (degree of disorder) can never decrease. In other words, the universe cannot return to exactly the same state in which it was at an earlier point. Time cannot move backward. Time Dilation In classical mechanics, time is the same everywhere. Synchronized clocks remain in agreement. Yet we know from Einstein's special and general relativity that time is relative. It depends on the frame of reference of an observer. This can result in time dilation, where the time between events becomes longer (dilated) the closer one travels to the speed of light. Moving clocks run more slowly than stationary clocks, with the effect becoming more pronounced as the moving clock approaches light speed. Clocks in jets or in orbit record time more slowly than those on Earth, muon particles decay more slowly when falling, and the Michelson-Morley experiment confirmed length contraction and time dilation. Time Travel Time travel means moving forward or backward to different points in time, much like you might move between different points in space. Jumping forward in time occurs in nature. Astronauts on the International Space Station jump forward in time when they return to Earth because of its slower movement relative to the station. The idea of traveling back in time, however, poses problems. One issue is causality or cause and effect. Moving back in time could cause a temporal paradox. The "grandfather paradox" is a classic example. According to the paradox, if you travel back in time and kill your grandfather before your mother or father was born, you could prevent your own birth. Many physicists believe time travel to the past is impossible, but there are solutions to a temporal paradox, such as traveling between parallel universes or branch points. Time Perception The human brain is equipped to track time. The suprachiasmatic nuclei of the brain is the region responsible for daily or circadian rhythms. But neurotransmitters and drugs affect time perceptions. Chemicals that excite neurons so they fire more quickly than normal speed up time, while decreased neuron firing slows down time perception. Basically, when time seems to speed up, the brain distinguishes more events within an interval. In this respect, time truly does seem to fly when one is having fun. Time seems to slow down during emergencies or danger. Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston say the brain doesn't actually speed up, but the amygdala becomes more active. The amygdala is the region of the brain that makes memories. As more memories form, time seems drawn out. The same phenomenon explains why older people seem to perceive time as moving faster than when they were younger. Psychologists believe the brain forms more memories of new experiences than that of familiar ones. Since fewer new memories are built later in life, time seems to pass more quickly. The Beginning and End of Time As far as the universe is concerned, time had a beginning. The starting point was 13.799 billion years ago when the Big Bang occurred. We can measure cosmic background radiation as microwaves from the Big Bang, but there isn't any radiation with earlier origins. One argument for the origin of time is that if it extended backward infinitely, the night sky would be filled with light from older stars. Will time end? The answer to this question is unknown. If the universe expands forever, time would continue. If a new Big Bang occurs, our time line would end and a new one would begin. In particle physics experiments, random particles arise from a vacuum, so it doesn't seem likely the universe would become static or timeless. Only time will tell. Key Points Time is the progression of events from the past into the future. Time moves only in one direction. It's possible to move forward in time, but not backward. Scientists believe memory formation is the basis for human perception of time. Sources Carter, Rita. The Human Brain Book. Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 2009, London. Richards, E. G. Mapping Time: The Calendar and its History. Oxford University Press, 1998, Oxford. Schwartz, Herman M. Introduction to Special Relativity, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1968, New York.

Off My Chest!!!

Would someone tell that old fake ass president that white women has benefitted the most from DEI programs more than any other race or group? Some Americans are shocked to learn that Black people are not the primary beneficiaries of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Because, for many, these policies are synonymous with discussions about race. While companies voluntarily adopted policies to address racial discrimination in the workplace during the 1960s and 70s, they were designed to help a number of marginalized groups, including religious minorities and veterans. White women have benefitted the most from DEI programs. While women remain underrepresented "at every stage of the corporate pipeline," a McKinsey study estimated it would take 48 years for women of color to achieve gender parity, while only 22 years for white women to reach this milestone. www.msn.com › en-us › news

Off my Chest!!! The passage of Time!!!

Every moment of our lives is governed by the passage of time, and it impacts every action and decision we make. Time is involved in everything we do, from waking up and going to work to eating a meal, exercising, and socializing with friends and family. brilliantio.com › what-is-the-importance-of-time

What Thine 'Tis It To Die!!!

On this past Friday of November 29, 2024 a very good and dear friend of mine passed away! She was the ripe old age of 86! It really hurt me deep inside because we had been friends for over four decades! I often refer to her as my Macon Ga. Big Sister! We met back in the late seventies when I was an insurance agent riding around Macon Georgia collecting on debit three days a week for a company called Independent Life! She was a very sweet lady that always had a very pleasant attitude accompanied by an equally pleasant smile! We both like to play the Cash 3 Lottery! In fact that was the way that we met! Her small community store was a drop off point for those that like to play the illegal lottery because back then Ga. did not have a lottery. Ga. would not start the lottery until 1993! For almost the last twenty-five years there were not many days that I did not talk to Gin. This was years after she had closed her store and was just a house mom! And I had left the insurance business and was in another profession. But we both still like to play the Cash 3 Lottery! We both also like to talk about our backyard garden! What we had in it and how it was growing at that time! I will truly miss Gin and her phone calls! When someone die I often think of the poem that I wrote upon the death of my 15 year old Best Friend Leroy Searcy, who passed away from cancer! What Thine 'Tis To Die? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What thine 'tis it to Die I've often wondered why? In thine body-not thy soul, Interred in some great big hole. A castaway in distant space, Yet, without a common face. Being a lost soul? Being in a lost hole? What thine 'tis it to die? To die and yet not die? To lie and yet not lie? The dead are bawling, The live are crawling. To lose someone close Hurts the very most. Going back to the dust, Existing as common rust. From within the lost past, Let the dead come at last. Here today-gone tomorrow, Longsuffering and now sorrow! ****************************** Reflections In Black And White Prose by David Vincent Laster 

The Reward of Death!

I cannot escape this thing we call death! We go through life and if we are lucky we live a very long life and then we die! The Bible says that death is not the final reward. If you live a righteous God fearing life then your final reward will be that you will one day go on to live in heaven with Jesus! Otherwise you will go on to that other place called Hell and live with the devil! Each day or so it seems like someone we know passes away and leaves a sad and empty place in our heart! ***************** www.nytimes.com › interactive › 2023/09/06 America may still think of itself as a young nation, but as a society, it is growing old. Thanks to falling birthrates, longer life expectancy and the graying of the baby boomer cohort, our society is being transformed. This is a demographic change that will affect every part of society. Already, in about half the country, there are more people dying than being born, even as more Americans are living into their 80s, 90s and beyond. In 2020 the share of people 65 or older reached 17 percent, according to the Census Bureau. By 2034, there will be more Americans past retirement age than there are children. The challenge the country faces transcends ideology, geography and ethnic or racial category, and American leaders, regardless of their party, need to confront it with the appropriate urgency. It has been decades since lawmakers last came to a consensus about what old age in America should look like: In 1935 the passage of the Social Security Act was meant to ensure that older people would not die destitute because they could no longer work. In 1965 aging was included as part of the vision of the Great Society. Our society now faces another moment when it is up to us to decide what America’s future will be. This shift has major implications. A drop in the working-age population typically means labor shortages, productivity declines and slower economic growth. Places like Japan, with the highest proportion of people 65 or older in the world, offer a hint of what the near future might look like for America. In Japan, especially in rural areas, schools shut their doors because there are no longer enough children to fill them; births fell below 800,000 in 2022, and about 450 schools close every year. With fewer young people working, revenue for retirement programs is shrinking, and there is a chronic labor shortage. Japanese people increasingly work into their 60s, 70s and beyond, often in physically demanding but low-paid jobs such as making deliveries and cleaning offices. That means employers have to adjust, adding rest areas, ramps and handrails in workplaces to accommodate older workers’ needs. Aging societies have different needs from young ones, and while America is far from the only country facing this shift, it has been slow to address it. The strains are showing in everything from health care and housing to employment and transportation. With an average of 10,000 boomers turning 65 each day, these pressures are steadily intensifying and will continue to do so, especially if current immigration policies hold. The recent decline in Americans’ life expectancy over the past few years is especially alarming. It reflects deaths from Covid and drug overdoses, as well as higher mortality rates among children and teenagers from violence and accidental deaths, but that does not change the underlying demographic shift. By 2053, more than 40 percent of the federal budget will go toward programs for seniors, primarily Social Security and Medicare — but those programs are not designed for or prepared to handle the new demographic reality. The challenges of an aging population are also deeply personal. Among the most elemental questions are where and how we will spend the closing years of our lives. Millions of Americans are already grappling with these dilemmas for themselves and for their loved ones. A cottage industry of products and services has emerged to help people adjust their homes and their lives for aging. A demographic shift this significant calls for a broad-based response, and the longer the challenges go unaddressed, the more formidable they become. There are many pieces to this puzzle, including who will care for older people, where they will live, how our cities are designed and how businesses will adapt. Many older people in the United States say they feel invisible in a country that has long been obsessed with youth, avoiding the inevitability — and possibilities — of old age. Americans of every generation owe it to themselves and their families to begin asking the question: Is this a challenge we want to handle on our own? Or is it something that we as a society should confront together? The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom. All we can really do is try to make the best of each and every day that we have left here on this place we call earth.

A Special Moment In Time!

Do you have a very special moment in time that you will always remember and that you will never forget? Was it that very special person that crossed your path and lit up your life forever and ever? At that moment you knew that they would come to be part of your life. I have experienced moments like that. I knew that I was in someone special! And they look at you and smile and your heart just melts away like butter. But it is not always a person that makes you feel this way! It could be an event or situation also. A well respected motivational speaker penned it like this:Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. "Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored".Earl Nightingale How say you?

Off My Chest!!!

First Love There is something about this first love That always hangs in your mind. Maybe it's the idea of it being the first time. For this first love can destroy your heart and hurt your mind. And it also can bring you happiness and success. One thing about it, you will learn a lot You'll truly know what to do the very next time. When this love enteines. It will spread its webb all around about, And will oftentimes make you want to get out. For you will always have a place in your heart for this first love. Oh, how sweet it was, when you met him or her. For there is something about this first love that always hangs in your mind. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is taken from David Laster's Reflections in Black and White!