Are there any laws stating that time must flow in a constant stream (i.e. moments in unbroken succession)?
Asked by: Burl Carpenter
Answer
I don't know of any laws as such. However, Einstein's theories of relativity treat space-time as a
4 dimensional entity. In this view there are no gaps in time, just as there are no gaps in
left-right, up-down, and forwards-backwards.
However, there is the problem of singularities. At these points the classical laws of physics
predict that space and time will cease to exist and therefore you do have a hole in space-time.
Another difficulty is what quantum theory has to say about space-time. On a classical scale it is
observed to be a continuum but if you were able to go right down to the Planck length (10-35m)you
would find that it is a seething mass (often called quantum foam) and here space and time also
break down and become incontinous.
Answered by: Edward Rayne, Physics Undergraduate Student, Cambridge UK
'The strength and weakness of physicists is that we believe in what we can measure. And if we can't measure it, then we say it probably doesn't exist. And that closes us off to an enormous amount of phenomena that we may not be able to measure because they only happened once. For example, the Big Bang. ... That's one reason why they scoffed at higher dimensions for so many years. Now we realize that there's no alternative... '