It don’t get much weirder than this. The universe is about to lose its dimension of time says a group of theoretical astrobods at the University of Salamanca in Spain. And they got the evidence to prove it.
The idea comes from the study of braneworlds: the thinking that the universe we see around us is a 4-dimensional cosmos called a braneworld embedded in a multidimensional universe. The “signature” of our universe is the number of space and time-like dimensions it has: in our case we got 3 space-like dimensions and one time-like dimension. It’s what astrobods call a Lorentzian universe. So far so good: lots of astronutters think the same thing.
But our universe may not always have been like this. Some theorists think it may once have had a Euclidean signature meaning that all the dimensions were space-like. Now Marc “Bars” Mars and a few pals in Spain say that the Universe’s signature might be about to flip from Lorentzian to Euclidean. In other words, our dimension of time is about turn space-like. Gulp!
This ain’t entirely bonkers and here’s why. Bars Mars has calculated what it’s like to be an observer in a universe that is about to flip and get this: it would look as if it were expanding and accelerating away from us. Sound familiar?
Yep, it’s exactly what astrobods have been observin over the last few years, a phenomenon they attribute to dark energy. If Bars Mars is right, dark energy ain’t got nothing to do with it and we’re all starin’ down the barrel of a cosmic catastrophe.
Still, maybe four space-like dimensions will be better than three. Who needs time anyway?
Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0710.0820: Is the Accelerated Expansion Evidence of a Forthcoming change of Signature?
Comments
106 responses to “Why our time dimension is about to become space-like”
That’s what you get when you kill all the Time Lords off. Damn you RTD. 😛
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So what would happen to us, if this were to happen?
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So when is that going to happen? (or should I say “where”?
So about how long do we have? What would be the effect of this “flip”? Would it happen all at once or would we be able to observe some kind of wavefront approaching us? Will this stabilize the universe to avoid a big crunch or cause the big crunch to happen and destroy everything?
More importantly, will we still get overtime pay? Will the IRS grant us an extension or will the next April 15 just never arrive? See, it might not be all bad. 🙂
How many advanced alien civilizations would you say are currently working on the problem?
Is this George Bush’s fault???
By Taco Paco on Oct 9, 2007
“Is this George Bush’s fault???”
If it means loosing touch with reality then yes.
[…] Read the full paper: Why our time dimension is about to become space-like […]
I sure hope this happens on a weekend, and not on a monday or something. It would be awful being forever (?) trapped in a monday.
Would that explain why I’m always late at work, and early at the pub?
Physics isn’t my strong point, but doesn’t this kind of go hand in hand with the big bang to begin with? You start with matter without a time dimension, then it explodes and “gains” this time dimension. Then, inevitably, it collapses upon itself and loses that “time dimension” once again. The second that matter gains time as a property, the clock automatically starts counting down to the point where it looses it. Much like, if you want to look at life in a morbid fashion, the second you are born you are on your journey to the grave.
[…] Is the Accelerated Expansion Evidence of a Forthcoming change of Signature? the physics arXiv blog
[…] this is strange (from the physics arxiv blog found on Slashdot): It don’t get much weirder than this. The universe is about to lose its […]
But how is Al Gore going to tie this to Global Warming? Can he move on from Carbon Credits to Time-Space credits?
Is there any indication that we can avert this by buying Time-Space credits to make up for all the wasted time and space we’ve squandered. Will we be able to retrieve them and have little bits of time to remind us what the old universe was like?
Just like global warming (a solar phenomenon) there’s nothing we can do about it. What an interesting idea, though. What happens to entropy? I thought that was one of our baselines to show which direction time flows. If there’s no more time, does entropy stop of suddenly reach maximum (goodbye us.)
2012 much? That would certainly make the Mayans even more wise to the ways of the universe. Just one more reason for the parties of 2012 to be even more epic!
So every day will be like the movie “Groundhog Day?” Cool. I hope it’s not a Monday.
Yes,
it is natural to assume that the temporal dimension will become more space like when the universe becomes so empty that individual particles become isolated and there is no outside reference.
If this were going to happen sometime in the future, I would have known about it by now.
i live in manhattan, so I could use the extra space
are you all retarded? or just making jokes?
if this hapenns everything will be changed in a fundamental way. either we’ll die or we couldn’t cope with it. Who cares if every day is monday? wtf is moday anyway?
Does this mean well be able to move around in time the way we move around in space?
Okay, so say we take this into account with the whole superstring and 11 dimension stuff… does this mean that the next dimension up/out/whatever would become the “time” dimension if our time dimension turned into a spatial one? Hmmmm… I wonder…
[…] Strange stuff for the science geeks. […]
Sounds like a good episode of The Twilight Zone
Finally, the Rapture!
This certainly could play in to the Christian belief of a time before creation where there was God, but no time… just “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God.” Then he creates the world, and time enters in to the equation. Then the universe “flips” (as the article calls it) when He returns, and eternity “re-enters” the equation, because time exits the equation.
..not to mention just about every other religion since about 500,000 years ago.
Perhaps you are about to be eaten by a giant mutant space goat, or perhaps the universe will go on as it has for…well, a little while now.
Only I really know, huh?
So dont sweat it kids………
Please tell me you didn’t go to college to write like that? “astrobods?” “…they got the evidence…?” I would have been far more interested in reading this article had it been written by an adult.
[…] crying already, stop you babies. Sure we all knew it would come to this. You didn’t expect the universe to keep expanding, or did you ?? Here’s a tip to all […]
[…] ~ R^2. Sho’. Published October 10th, 2007 Uncategorized This is so strange, I just had to share it.
Makes snese. Without time as a dimension we would be eternal, and, replacing that dimension with a new spatial dimension would give us the ability to create whatever we wanted to out of the other three. Sounds about right for my conception of what I will become at some point – an eternal being with creative control. Maybe about December, 2012.
snese. sense.
Well, its will soon be time to get out the Time/Dimension Stabilizers, this dimensional shift will be a bumpy ride.
We don’t have any?!? We better hurry up and make some. Where is Doctor Who when you need him?!?
twist: why you getting so stressed out? Its not like we can do anything about it. If its inevitable its inevitable!
too bad, we all wont live long enough to see who was right.
I for myself think, even if we did live long enough, we wouldn’t notice the difference. Either we are not capable to, or we will all gonna die in a very short distance (time?).
Does this mean we will all become BRANE damaged?
Does this mean we will all become BRANE damaged?
… Or is the Rapture actually a rupture?
I’ve grown accustomed to her face.
She almost makes the day begin.
I’ve grown accustomed to the tune that
She whistles night and noon.
Her smiles, her frowns,
Her ups, her downs
Are second nature to me now;
Like breathing out and breathing in.
I was serenely independent and content before we met;
Surely I could always be that way again-
And yet
I’ve grown accustomed to her look;
Accustomed to her voice;
Accustomed to her face.
“I was always told to put a paper bag over my head”
“If you like, yes.”
“Will that help?”
“No.”
yeah buddy, i think its very possible that you are the retarded one.
Mark your calendars for Dec 21st, 2012.
In the book of Revelation of the Bible, it states that in the end of “time” the heavens will “roll back like a scroll.” Looks like David was right! lol This also seems to coincide with 2012, the end of the world as we know it. Not to worry everyone, this is all just development of human consciousness.
As the church lady once said
“Well isn’t that spatial”
so I follow her into a very high end clothing store and she is still jawing at me because I took her picture without her permission. Shes giving me the finger and calling me an A**** and I’m trying to get her to have a cup of coffee with me so I could cool her down and maybe we could establish a friendship. Just then a very ritzy looking sales lady walks over and inquires “Is everything all right?” But before anyone could answer I blew the loudest fart I have ever created in my inards and both ladies related how disgusting I was and that if I didn’t leave that very moment they would call the police. Ain’t that a pip?
if/when time becomes a space dimension, can’t you just walk in the direction of the negative time-axis, and thus being in a spacetime that’s still timetime?
Also, you (and everything else) would be everywhere you’ve ever been, which really voids a lot current physical laws.
yo i am fro onemanga
Well will we even notice a change. What about a dimension give it the property of a “time” dimension anyway, it seems not right. For instance what is a universe with 2 time dimensions and 2 physical dimensions like? A schizophrenic flatland? Choose your own destiny, and flip back and forth when you get bored.
So time stops, now is always. you will always be late and early, ahhhh *head explodes*