posted 05-26-99 09:59 AM ET     

Hooray !!!!

posted 05-27-99 12:27 PM ET            

For us, at places time might go faster than time on Earth.

And in other places, it will go slower.

Since it as to do with gravity, we can pretty much guess that the Universe would be younger near black holes and older in the intergalactic void, far from any important gravity source.

And 12 billion EARTH years...
Is there a real time division for the entire universe?

posted 06-01-99 11:25 PM ET            

One and only DS:

The age of stars issue will likely be resolved more accurately, due to detailed HST surveys of Cepheid variables, and we will likely find the ages of the universe and the oldest structures in it to come into closer agreement. This is interesting in itself, since the early appearance of structure in the universe gives a lot of indication as to mass and the ultimate fate of the universe.

Spoe, RM et al:
Time dilation is one directional, i.e. time can go slower as an object becomes relativistic, but never faster than when the object is in a rest state. If you work the equations on the other side of c, i.e. faster than light, the same phonomena applies, in the opposite direction, and as the speed approaches infinity, time returns to its non-relativistic, or normal, rate.
At precisely c (light speed in a vacuum) time dilation is infinite, i.e. time stops, but quantum theory does not allow an object to be precisely at c - it jumps around a bit, due to the uncertainty relation, so there is always some passage of time, in any reference frame. Relativity is governed by the requirements of Quantum theory and other physical laws, we just can't work the make to quantize relativity. Quantum gravity blows up every time. Solve the problem, and you will be the greatest name in the history of science.

Half life of a free neutron is pretty damned short, so that doesn't work. Earth years sounds weird, but it is acceptable for the age of the universe, because it is just the name we put on a lump of time that is x amount long in a non-relativistic time frame.

In other words, it doesn't matter where you measure, once you make the adjustment of the reference frames, an "earth year" is the same thing in any part of the universe, or in the whole universe.

Also keep in mind that the most objects in the universe are not moving at relativistic speeds, space itself is expanding that way. The entire point to General Relativity is that you can reconcile all objects internal sense of space and time in an absolute four dimensional array of space-time, as developed and proven by Hermann Minkowski in 1908. IIRC the year.