The Space-Time Continuum

Sunday, October 13, 2019
First Aired:
Sunday, April 2, 2017

What Is It

关于时间有很多奇怪的说法:它是虚幻的,它没有方向。但是空间呢,或者说时空连续体呢?时空到底是什么?空间和时间是世界的基本特征吗?爱因斯坦的狭义相对论和广义相对论如何改变了我们对时空的理解?在空间和时间之间有什么区别吗?或者这两个概念必须统一为一个单一的、相互交织的连续统一体吗?John and Ken expand their space-time with Tim Maudlin from NYU, author of物理哲学:空间和时间。

Part of our seriesA Philosophical Guide to the Cosmos

Listening Notes

What is space-time? Space has three dimensions and time has before and after. John sees space and time as independent of each other. Ken adds that common sense dictates that space and time are absolute things. Time, he says, contains the entire spatial manifold which moves through time as a single unit. Leibniz said this was incoherent and violated the principle of sufficient reason. The philosopher claimed that there would be no discernible difference between one position in absolute space and another. The idea of absolute space, Leibniz claimed, is an empty one. The due talk about the speed of light and its role as the measuring stick of the geometry of the universe, and try to get at what space-time really is.

John and Ken welcome guest Tim Maudlin, Professor of Philosophy at New York University and author ofPhilosophy of Physics: Space and Time.约翰问蒂姆是什么吸引他去研究时空哲学而不是物质物理。蒂姆解释说,在本科期间,他学的是哲学和物理,在这两门课程中,他都被弄清事情真相的知识欲望所驱使;然而,事物的概念性方面更吸引他。约翰想知道空间和时间是两个独立的事物还是一个单一的实体会有什么区别;蒂姆解释说,在日常生活中并不是这样,但如果相对论成立,那么事物的基本结构——我们都享受同一时刻——就会被动摇。肯问太空中的每个地方是否都有自己的时间。蒂姆解释说,时间的度量是你在时空中旅行路径的度量;不同的路径有不同的长度。有经验信息支持这个理论吗? And if Leibniz were right, wouldn’t quantum mechanics be wrong?

肯想知道哲学对空间和时间的争论有什么贡献。蒂姆解释说,哲学在空间和时间领域的贡献更多来自哲学训练,而不是哲学教义。哲学迫使你思考事物的最底层,最基本的,概念性的层面,并试图对这些基本概念极其清晰和精确。蒂姆解释说,当你在做物理学的基础工作时,这是绝对必要的!数学模型和物理现实之间的关系还不太清楚。时间不就是在变吗?时间有方向吗?约翰和肯欢迎观众提问,他们继续讨论。

  • Roving Philosophical Reporter (Seek to 7:30):Philosophy Talk's Reporter Shuka Kalantari investigates the paradoxes of time travel in movies and shows likeBack to the Future(the pre-destination paradox),The Butterfly Effect(the aptly named butterfly effect paradox), andDr. Who(the bootstrap paradox).

Transcript

Comments(3)


Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Thursday, September 26, 2019 -- 12:29 PM

时间很可能是虚幻的。Or

时间很可能是虚幻的。或者,它可能没有方向。同样地,时空连续体,虽然与智人是相对的,但作为一个实际问题,也是虚幻的&好吧,相对的。我们注意到这些事情,也就是说,我们想到它们,因为我们可以,因为我们需要相信,任何可能影响我们的事情都需要被分析,令人厌烦,甚至更多。天体物理学家和宇宙学家需要一些东西来占据他们的时间;他们需要对自己在人类社会中所处的位置感到安全。此外,也许更能说明问题的是,如果我们能够理解物理学的任何和所有分支;如果我们能够充分利用这些现在只是讨论和猜想的话题,那么科幻小说(或更多科幻小说)中的东西就可以触手可及了。想象一下,如果时空连续真的意味着一些我们可以操纵的东西,即使只是在小的方面(不管那些可能是什么……)诚然,这主要是猜测。 But, thinking about it, that is how many of our realities arrived. They grew out of speculations. And, surely, as philosophers, we speculate daily. Jumping outside of the space---this is what we are all about...
The only things we can never know are those about which we have no curiosity. A totality of the circumstances...or something like that.

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Wednesday, October 9, 2019 -- 11:20 AM

This morning, I was getting

今天早上,我在我最喜欢的便利店买咖啡。我看到一个人因为研究时间旅行的概念,在当地上了一些新闻。我问他他的工作进展如何:他解决了旧时空连续体的难题了吗?他说他(和未透露姓名的合作者)正在接近真相;提到了一些模糊的关于即将到来的新闻发布会;他还表示,澳大利亚人正在取得进展,但“远远落后于我们所做的”。现在,我不是一个对科学进步嗤之以鼻的人:我喜欢认为,当我看到它时,我可能知道它……我自己有时甚至偶尔会预测一两件事。但是,这个人已经考虑这个问题很多年了。当谈到时间旅行时,他很活跃,有人可能会说:驱使。我不认识其他认识他的人,大多数与我交谈过的有名望的人,当提到他的名字时,有些人会翻白眼。 I'll not mention his name here, inasmuch as my revelation about him is not glowing and might even be considered insultatory.

But, allow me to be clear. He was knowledgeable regarding the likes of Sean Carroll; the late Stephen Hawking and others. I sincerely hope he is on to something (whether on his own or with collaboration). Think of it: time travel! Wouldn't that be grand? Sure. But, I won't take any bets on it. Just yet. Oh, he did mention that he had little time for philosophers---thought that they spent far too much time arguing with one another; that their professed search for truth was a con. They ARE a fussy lot sometimes. But, aren't we all?

RepoMan05's picture

RepoMan05

Friday, October 11, 2019 -- 6:32 AM

It's the speed at which space

它是空间通过弯曲产生的速度。这是一个由相关性造成的不断膨胀的泡沫。