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The barrier of space and time
RAPHAEL BONHART ponders
whether mankind will find a way out of the barrier of space and
time. (part one)
I always imagine that the vast empty space of the universe is like
a gigantic bubble in an ocean of skot (some kind of thing). This
bubble in the ocean of skot is inflated by the presence of all
matter in it.
I always imagine too that at the moment of creation, matter
existed first, and space and time are merely a consequence of its
existence.
These two analogies help me grasp two radical views about our
universe. First, the space of the universe is finite but
unbounded. Second, space and time are part and parcel of the
existence of matter.
Matter in the universe - be it in solid, liquid, gas or
plasma-includes every physical entity from cosmic nebulae, gas,
dust and debris; moons, planets, stars, asteroids, comets, black
holes, quasars, dark matter, interstellar matter and all that add
up to the giants of creation, the galaxies.
If all these matter are removed completely from our universe, then
space and time will inevitably vanish. The reason being that space
and time exist only in connection with matter, and are impossible
without it.
Space, time and matter form one fundamental unity that makes them
inseparable, interwoven and mutually dependent. Their
interrelationship helps us to solve some otherwise insoluble
problems because a change in matter for instance, cannot take
place without affecting the dimensions of space and time.
We cannot adequately explain how space, time and matter are
related. This interrelationship is the twine that interweaves them
together. Once disentangled and understood, a theory will be
formulated that will unify them into different aspects of one
phenomenon.
This will be like the current fundamental theories that now enable
us to relate electricity, magnetism and light as all
electromagnetic. And if this interwoven secret lies at the heart
of the atom, unraveling it at that level will mean deciphering the
genetic code of the universe.
Most astronomers believe the moment of creation began 15, 000
million years ago with a Big Bang.
According to the theory, a "minute cosmic egg" of immeasurable
energy exploded. Matter, gravity and electromagnetism came into
existence, rushing out in all directions and creating space.
With gravitation as the main ingredient for universal structure,
our cosmos was born and left to develop according to the laws of
mathematical necessity.
We now live in an orderly solar system, nine planets orbiting the
sun, which is one of the millions of stars scattered around an
organized galaxy, the Milky Way.
The Milky Way then is one of the millions of galaxies strewn
across our universe.
Scientists do not know the cause of this primeval explosion, but
evidence of an expanding universe, with a cosmic microwave
background radiation, supports the Big Bang theory.
All electromagnetic waves travel in free space at a constant
velocity of 300,000 km per second. This velocity is called the
speed of light and it is a universal constant. All electromagnetic
waves cannot travel more or less than the speed of light.
The electromagnetic spectrum is divided into arbitrary regions of
electromagnetic waves. They are as follows in increasing order of
frequency and energy and, therefore of decreasing wavelength;
Micro pulsations, radio waves, microwaves, infrared rays, visible
light rays, ultraviolet rays, x-rays and gamma rays.
Radio waves and part of microwaves are used in communications so
both regions are often called radio. Visible light rays are a tiny
part of the spectrum that has the frequency and enough energy to
affect the retina of eye and cause the sensation we call light.
Having the speed of light, both radio waves and visible light rays
are now chosen for their relevance at this point in this article.
That one second light takes to travel 300,000 km can be called a
light second. When we say a distance of one light second, we mean
a distance of 300,000km.
A light minute is a distance of 18 million km and a light year-the
distance light travels in one year-is 9.46 million million km.
Now we can see that as distance becomes great in astronomical
terms, the vastness of space and time becomes a barrier and comes
into play against the speed of light. From a relativistic point of
view of the universe, it is not only matter that cannot be
transported at speeds greater than that of light, but also any
meaningful symbol that is used to convey information. Since their
speed is constant, they are subject to the space-time barrier.
When we look up to the heavens on a clear night, not only the
vastness of space confronts us, but it also takes us back in time.
The distant heavens that we see are the past because light is
reaching our eyes after some decades to millions of light years of
travel.
An example is Vega, which is a visible star on the northern sky
and is 26 light years away. If you look up and see it tonight, you
will see it as it was 26 light years away because light reaching
your eyes tonight has been journeying towards Earth for that long.
Used as a carrier of information, radio waves have enabled man to
overcome the space-time barrier on a global scale. Just by talking
to someone half the planet away, communication seems
instantaneous. It is the speed of light that enables us to
communicate in real-time and allows us to converse.
From Earth, the moon is 1.3 light seconds away; Mars is about 4.3
light minutes away and Uranus is at a light distance of 2.5 hours.
Do you think that in future, long distance-travel interplanetary
or interstellar communications will be possible in real-time for
us to converse?
(Find out in part two of this article in
The Weekender next Friday)
 
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