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| Does having a plank length mean that time ticks forward rather then flow? |
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| Beamin:
I always found the plank length a fascinating idea. It kind of imply s that we live in a digital universe rather then an analog one. If the smallest unit of length is the plank length then the time it takes for light to travel it is a plank time. The light therefore cant be any unit less then at the beginning or end of the plank length. This would in turn make time tick rather then flow, since if you could divide the plank length up you would have an infinite number of fractions between 0 and 1. It kind of reminds me of super tasks: You have a two minute time scale after 1 minute you turn the light on, then in 30 seconds you turn the light off, 15 seconds you turn the light on, 7.5 light off, 3.75 light on. You keep doing that with smaller and smaller fractions, but at the end of the two minutes is the light on or off? How many steps did you preform? You just did an infinite number of steps in a finite amount of time. You do this until you reach a plank time. This is how I imagine the plank length/time(space/time) works. Is it a paradox or a real thing? |
| tom66:
The Planck length is frequently misunderstood. It does not mean that things are immeasurable below this length or that time cannot be subdivided further. It's essentially a convenience factor for quantum mechanics. If you use Planck constants then you can simplify a lot of the maths. |
| Benta:
Are you talking about Planck Length? Planks can be several meters long, depending on their use and on the timber they're made from. |
| Beamin:
--- Quote from: Benta on January 07, 2021, 10:40:59 pm ---Are you talking about Planck Length? Planks can be several meters long, depending on their use and on the timber they're made from. --- End quote --- Ones made from quantum ships keels |
| vad:
The interpretation of Plank time is: it is not possible to measure time interval to accuracy better than the Plank time, if we rely on known laws of nature. Two points can be derived from this: 1) the statement does not mean time is discrete. Uncertainty does not mean being discrete. 2) the statement does not say anything about existence of other laws of physics that humans have not discovered yet. Maybe future theory of quantum gravity would expand our understanding of the nature of the Plank time. |
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