For the life of me I cannot get my mind to understand the relativity of time and gravity and space

[Ed MOTHEREFFING G]

The initial issue is that for me 'time' is just a measurement to me. A second is no different to me than a meter, or a kilogram, or a gallon. Its just...a measurement.

So, the idea that this measurement, or how that measurement is perceived changes related to heavier gravity or change in space is just something I cannot process.

I have watched this really Fischer Price 'My first science class' ass video like 3x

they even address the issue I have

but it is some blindspot i have. I can't get there and I hate it.

I love interstellar, its a GOAT movie, and this still bothers me.

 

[Hersh]

Gravity is also a measurement

 

[Ed MOTHEREFFING G]

Gravity is also a measurement

No, gravity is force. We measure it using metrics the acceleration of mass (N).

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

The initial issue is that for me 'time' is just a measurement to me. A second is no different to me than a meter, or a kilogram, or a gallon. Its just...a measurement.

So, the idea that this measurement, or how that measurement is perceived changes related to heavier gravity or change in space is just something I cannot process.

I have watched this really Fischer Price 'My first science class' ass video like 3x

they even address the issue I have

but it is some blindspot i have. I can't get there and I hate it.

I love interstellar, its a GOAT movie, and this still bothers me.

 

[NZA]

time is a flat circle

 

[Rum&Pineapple]

This is the best explanation I’ve seen. Found it in the Interstellar subreddit:

The biggest assumption you have to make is that the speed of light, c, is Constant and it will always remain constant. Next, you have to understand that gravity works by bending space (imagine putting a weighted ball on a taught bedsheet, it would cause the bedsheet to sag). Knowing these two things, if light is passing through an area that has a lot of gravity, it must cross a curved surface instead of going in a straight line. Because the curved path is longer than a straight line and the speed of light has to be constant, the only variable that can compensate for the increased distance is time: if time slows down, it will allow light to travel at c and still reach its destination at the same time as if it were a straight line. Also, the more gravity there is, the bigger the curve is which makes time slow down even more.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Special Relativity was first proposed by Einstein in 1905. I remember in one book I was reading there was a quote from someone in 1912 or something who said that you could count the # of people who actually understood it on one hand.

So don't feel bad if you can't wrap your mind around it. It is a really hard concept to wrap your mind around. If you're interested in it then just keep watching different videos, reading different books, even take a class if you can. I find that the more different ways a person has a concept explained to them, the better chance they have of grasping it.

 

[Ed MOTHEREFFING G]

This is the best explanation I’ve seen. Found it in the Interstellar subreddit:

But why would a human or a being age differently? My heart is still pumping right? The aging process is where my brain breaks on the topic as well

 

[Professor Emeritus]

But why would a human or a being age differently? My heart is still pumping right? The aging process is where my brain breaks on the topic as well

For me it works best to imagine time as intricately tied into space. Think of time as some 4th dimension of space. So then if you understand the warping of space in relativity, if you understand how space can contract in different frames of reference or under the influence of gravity, then you can begin to imagine how that contraction of space warps time as well.

It helps that I didn't just read books about this but already learned it formally in college. So I was learning all the math and solving problems that forced me to conceptualize and calculate the shyt going on. Because of that it's not just an abstract thought, but I know the exact mathematical relationship between the contraction of space and the dilation of time, which helps me to sort of visualize how time slows down in exact proportion to how space contracts, so that they can offset each other perfectly and the "speed of light" remains consistent.

So if you really want to go down that wormhole, reading through actual problems step-by-step with the calculations and everything might help.

 

[Ed MOTHEREFFING G]

For me it works best to imagine time as intricately tied into space. Think of time as some 4th dimension of space. So then if you understand the warping of space in relativity, if you understand how space can contract in different frames of reference or under the influence of gravity, then you can begin to imagine how that contraction of space warps time as well.

It helps that I didn't just read books about this but already learned it formally in college. So I was learning all the math and solving problems that forced me to conceptualize and calculate the shyt going on. Because of that it's not just an abstract thought, but I know the exact mathematical relationship between the contraction of space and the dilation of time, which helps me to sort of visualize how time slows down in exact proportion to how space contracts, so that they can offset each other perfectly and the "speed of light" remains consistent.

So if you really want to go down that wormhole, reading through actual problems step-by-step with the calculations and everything might help.

I appreciate your insight and thoughtful reply fam.

 

[Majestyx]

So if you really want to go down that wormhole, reading through actual problems step-by-step with the calculations and everything might help.

i see what you did there

 

[FromBillionsCameOne]

Time in reality is something much more abstract. We don't even know at what percentage of the speed of light that we're traveling at right now. Earth rotating, orbiting the sun, sun in orbit around the supermassive black hole atg the center of the galaxy, the galaxy moving thru the universe at who knows how fast. As i'm sitting here typing i'm moving at an absurd speed if the speed of light is the cap then who knows we might be moving at 99% of that speed. So time is already dilated. Then the fact that gravity is the weakest force as far as we know but it has an infinite effect. So every single particle is pulling on every other particle in the universe no matter how far away they are. If we could pinpoint a spot in "space" and remain there stationery would time stop?


DOPE fukkING THREAD BTW WE NEED MORE OF THIS

 

[Rum&Pineapple]

But why would a human or a being age differently? My heart is still pumping right? The aging process is where my brain breaks on the topic as well

These questions have always been fascinating to me too. It’s wild just imagining that somewhere out there could be another planet with beings still living their youth while a century or more has passed here on earth. I love thinking about stuff like this. I think another thing to consider is that in the grand scheme of things, we (humans) really have limited knowledge of how the universe works. Who’s to say that the things we consider a “constant” really work the same in every corner of the universe? If that makes any sense. Great thread. It has me going down a rabbit hole of information. Lol.

 

[FromBillionsCameOne]

If interstellar crafts have traveled to earth at even a 10th of the speed of light then wherever they came from time has passed so much that these craft could be obsolete compared to what that civ has produced or their home world could be gone by now. One thing that blows my mind is light traveling from distant objects. Is that light "younger" than the object because of time dilation? We look at the sky and we look at the past but that light is "younger"than the objects we see.

 

[Ed MOTHEREFFING G]

What's super crazy, is I just got offered a ticket to see Neil DeGrasse Tyson on Tuesday...how weird is that

I'll let you know how it was here