I'm excited to say I've made a book stay
tuned until the end of the video for
more about that
what is time
in this channel we've talked a lot about
time
as black holes warp space around them
we've learned that time slows down
we've discovered the time influencing
effects of gravity and even how the
James Webb Telescope can peer through
time to the distant past by taking
advantage of the fixed speed of light
all this makes sense so far but what
actually is time you can't taste it
touch it or feel it yet time has an
Unstoppable influence on us and is
pushing us forward whether we like it or
not
doesn't something that impacts
everything we do deserve some additional
understanding
I'm Alex mccolgan and you're watching
astrum and while this is an area that
scientists have many theories about I'd
like to share with you today one model
that might help you understand this
mysterious concept that is ticking all
around us by the end of this video we
are going to have a possible explanation
of why time slows down as velocity
increases and why shapes warp when
undergoing velocities close to the speed
of light
this video is a collaboration with my
brother based on recognized scientific
theory where we have taken scientific
Concepts and combined them into
something you may not have seen before
but before we get to that we have to
begin with one foundational idea
time is actually another dimension
now before you double check that you
haven't logged into some Sci-fi channel
by mistake let's discuss what I mean by
dimensions
while in popular culture different
dimensions are often described as
parallel worlds that are very similar to
ours yet subtly different in this
context when we talk of different
dimensions we are referring to the
dimensions of space as in
three-dimensional space or 3D space
which may be far more familiar to you
this is by no means trivial though 3D
space is all around you it is the around
you and is very relevant to our topic
let's begin by making sure we understand
the 3DS and the relationships between
them before we add the fourth d
broadly speaking 3D or three-dimensional
space simply refers to space that can be
measured in three different
perpendicular directions
the perpendicular nature of these
Dimensions is important but we'll get to
that later
three-dimensional space is usually
described as having height width and
depth and they all have 90 degree angles
between them simply put objects like us
that exist in 3D space can move left and
right up and down and forwards and
backwards
we are comfortable with this kind of
space using this as our basis it becomes
much easier to imagine what we mean by
2D space and even 1D space
to move from one space to another all we
need to do is remove or add an extra
dimension of measurement or movement
that must be a 90 degree angle from all
previously existing angles so 2D objects
move in a plane that's bounded by the X
and Y directions or the x and z
directions or the Y and Z directions but
not all three at once
1D objects can only move either along X
or Y or Z
imagine a person who lived in such a 1D
world the whole existence would be found
either moving one way or the other
all of reality would exist either to the
left or to the right of them and would
appear as a singular dot they could not
move or see in any of the other
directions and probably could not even
comprehend such directions as even
existing
photons Wishing by them would only be
visible if they entered the singular
line that was a 1D person's whole area
of existence
now adding extra directions of movement
is what's needed to move things up from
1D to 2D to 3D
so in theory we can predict what we need
to do if we were to jump to 40. however
here we hit a snag
while it's easy to draw a line that's
perfectly perpendicular to a single
other line or to draw another line on
top of those lines that is perpendicular
to the two previous lines
how would we draw a fourth line that's
perpendicular to all three surely such a
thing is impossible well within 3D space
such a thing is impossible
the best we can do is draw
approximations for instance it's
possible to draw an approximation of a
3D shape on 2D paper by doing something
like this
these lines are all two-dimensional but
we look at this and our brain recognizes
that this is a picture of a 3D shape so
in the same way we could probably do
something similar to what a 4D object
might look like using just 3D lines
mathematicians have attempted to do this
although their results tend to be a
little confusing
although this is mathematically sound as
a basis for a 4D object I personally
don't find my understanding of 4D Space
deepened by looking at it so I won't
focus on it in this video
there is some evidence however that the
fourth Direction exists and we are
moving along it right now
that fourth direction or Dimension is
time
Einstein predicted this connection when
he linked space and time into one
unified space-time in his theories of
relativity
according to him time and space are two
parts of the same thing
to me this connects with 4D space very
nicely just as there is no real
difference between the Zed and the x or
y directions so two would then not be
any difference between time and space if
time is just another Direction albeit
one that we can't see and time is
important without time our 3D space
wouldn't move it would perpetually be in
one state because it's time that allows
us to move about in it
but why can't we see it why can't we
look in the direction of time
to explain this let's look at the
difference between the different
dimensional spaces
we best noticed this when we consider
what 2D objects might look like if they
were to move around in 3D space
this is where we start to delve into the
model let's begin by visualizing a
standard 3D space but because we want to
eventually see all of space and time in
one model let's cheat a little
let's compress all of 3D reality as we
know it into a flat two-dimensional
place
in this plane let's make that our X Y
plane which we will label space which
frees up the Z dimension for time
in this model all 3D people are now just
2D
a 2d person could exist and live their
lives in the place marked space at the
bottom of our chart
however by moving them up on the chart
at a constant rate they are also moving
through time
let's put ease and convenience say that
the top of our diagram is the future
while the bottom is the past so the
higher up our 2D person goes in this
diagram the older they get
as we don't seem to have a whole lot of
control over our ability to travel
through time let's imagine for a second
that our 2D person travels upwards at a
constant rate as if there is some
consistent force or wind at play pushing
them upwards towards the future
sadly we cannot slow down time for
ourselves simply through willpower no
matter how much we might want to do so
however it is misleading to say that we
can't change it at all
the faster we travel in Space the slower
we travel in time this is one of the
guiding principles of Einstein's
relativity this model can express this
idea through the power of vectors
as our 2D person tries to move to their
left or to their right their Vector of
travel changes
while traveling at a fixed rate like a
sail on a ship catching a breeze we can
only go as fast as the wind takes us so
the vector coming out from their front
must always remain the same
to travel the fastest through time our
2D person must Orient his Vector
completely in the future direction or
upwards
however if they are to travel any amount
in either direction to their sides they
can only do so by pointing their Vector
away from their direction of travel
they have Motion in the X Direction now
but they have done so by reducing their
Motion in the Z Direction
they are moving through space But at the
cost of moving a little slower Through
Time
taking this to its furthest extreme our
individual has completely flipped on
their side and now only has Motion in
the direction of X and none in the
direction of Zed they have velocity in
space but not time so I suppose this
implies our Vector is the speed of
causality or the speed of light
if this is the speed we're talking about
then moving at low speeds through space
would not have any noticeable difference
in our speed through time
we'd have to go really fast before we
started to notice anything the vector
still mostly points upwards
an interesting result of this model is
that from the 2D man's perspective
nothing has really changed he has his
own view of what reality is
for him the vector coming out of his
chest is still time
the dimensions of the plane he's lying
flat on is his space to him it's the
rest of the universe that's gone a
little weird but he himself is perfectly
normal
however once he reorients himself it is
clear that the rest of the universe has
moved on without him
this is clearer if we add a second 2D
person
initially both of our individuals do not
move in space all of their Vector is
pointing in the direction of time
nothing that strange seems to happen so
far
however if our stick man on the right
turns and vectors at near the speed of
light for a bit then reorients himself
while the second 2D man on the left just
stays where he is it becomes clear that
our 2D men have not moved at the same
rate Through Time
assuming that our two stick men can
somehow still see each other let's
imagine that they somehow project an
image of themselves onto the other
person's space plane
they immediately noticed that there is a
difference in age
the one who traveled at the speed of
light did not advance so quickly through
time as the other who remained
stationary and so is younger
but why do we find this model so
compelling well it is because of what
those projections would look like during
changes in Direction
from the point of view of the first
Stickman initially the projection of
their friends seems fairly normal
however as they start traveling very
quickly in space and they're Vector
oriented in a direction away from time a
2d shape reveals its inherent flatness
and from a face on perspective it goes
from this to this
[Music]
the speedily traveling Stickman appears
to flatten with an effect that's more
pronounced the faster they go and the
flattening takes place in the direction
of their travel the stickman who remains
stationary might wonder the strange
change that is occurring to their friend
never comprehending that it represents a
reorientation of a 2d figure in 3D space
now what captures my imagination about
this is that this same thing happens in
real life
according to Einstein's theories of
Relativity objects traveling at Great
speeds in 3D space would appear from an
external Observer to flatten in the
direction of their travel this squishing
effect happens exactly in line with this
model and is to do with time dilation
however from the person whose
traveling's perspective they do not
flatten but it is the rest of the
universe that warps I talk about this in
Greater depth in another video of mine
where we can see the effects of spatial
warping in a computer model
from their perspective everything would
stretch at the edges of their Vision
while their destination would seem
further away which is again what this
model would predict
the only difference is that in this
model we're just exploring a 2d object
stretching
so the stretch is only in One Direction
while in real life it's 3D which means
it stretches in two directions instead
but that is what you might expect as you
turn away from our conventional three
dimensions and start orienting yourself
away from time
but if this is correct so what why does
it matter
if time is truly a direction then it
deepens our understanding of the
universe it also raises more questions
what is the force that pushes us ever
forward in time why does it seem that we
can never move against it although in
this model there is no reason why a
vector could not Point downwards in real
life that doesn't seem to ever happen
this model also answers the question of
if time is a direction what is our shape
in time thus part of us protrude into
the past or into the future according to
this model that does not happen we are
flat pancakes in the fourth dimension
pennies that look round when you look at
us head-on but revealing our thinness
when we turn away from you that's a
strange thought but it may just be true
this might explain why we are unable to
see through time we just don't extend
enough in that direction for it to be
visible your form might be quite
different than you first thought
of course this model is just a theory of
ours although we have tried to base it
on scientific observations and
conventional Theory but what do you
think does this model help you make
sense of time as a fourth dimension
please leave your ideas in the comments
Below on the nature of time and what
they might actually be instead
I hope to explore more strange Concepts
like this in a new series called the
Unseen World where I want to explore the
shape of reality around us while it's
normally invisible to us the shape and
dimensions of the universe can explain
why things are the way they are and I'm
excited to explore it with you if you
are interested in it let me know
I'm very pleased to finally show you
something that's been in the works for a
while I've been working together with
Stuart McPherson and the Don Hanson
Foundation to produce a book it has
already been sent to thousands of
schools around the world to hopefully
help school children develop a love for
space and now they are available to you
too the focus of this 160 page book is
the solar system and contains thousands
of facts about the different celestial
bodies found there and what I actually
love most about the book is the print
quality combined with the images somehow
these images just look so good when
printed out compared to seeing them on a
computer screen I spent hours finding
the very best images to include and I'm
very proud of the finished product
the initial sale is a limited edition of
only 175 books so it's really while
stocks last and they will include a
signed card from me and a Serial showing
your unique number I really expect these
to go fast so don't delay and check my
store link below
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