Deconstructing Time - part 2 "Events"

In the last post, I introduced a new line of dialog for Technovation Talks and provided my own "frame of reference" for how the investigation may proceed. This post will be used to begin quantifying Time. I think most people probably have a sense that this is something that has already been figured out. However, the deeper you dive into the topic, the less clear it seems to get. And any lack of clarity would make it difficult if not impossible to create reproducible mechanisms for identifying events.

We'll start by defining "Event."

Here's the Wikipedia definition:

In physics, and in particular relativity, an event indicates a physical situation or occurrence, located at a specific point in space and time. For example, a glass breaking on the floor is an event; it occurs at a unique place and a unique time, in a given frame of reference. 

Strictly speaking, the notion of an event is an idealization, in the sense that it specifies a definite time and place, whereas any actual event is bound to have a finite extent, both in time and in space. One of the goals of relativity is to specify the possibility of one event influencing another. 

I'm focusing on Events to begin with because I believe this is perhaps the most likely way to help identify paths and or coordinates within spacetime. The use of the term Event in this context is generally associated with the modern view of time - e.g. time as described in the context of both Special and General Relativity (although surprise, surprise Einstein's two theories don't exactly agree with each other on this topic and neither of them have been reconciled yet with quantum physics). Events are also mostly ignored in the previous accepted paradigm defined by Newton  - known as Absolute Time. Here's how Sir Issac described it:

Absolute, true and mathematical time, of itself, and from its own nature flows equably without regard to anything external, and by another name is called duration: relative, apparent and common time, is some sensible and external (whether accurate or unequable) measure of duration by the means of motion, which is commonly used instead of true time.

nice scarf, Issac...

It's worth noting here that there was disagreement on this definition almost immediately after it was introduced and that debate was one of the key factors in helping to drive modern theory. So Newton accounts for the possibility of events but relates them to what he calls "common time." Interestingly, also he contends that absolute time is independent of motion, sort of an a priori view of time - time is as time may be defined in its own right, or time as a constant.  A constant is a measure - but an event is that which is measured which is why we're starting there.

Beyond the initial description of what an event is an abstract sense, there isn't any agreed upon definition as to what an event in physics actually represents. Without that understanding that it is highly unlikely that we could ever define precise/distinct events or come close to pinpointing them in any sort of consistent fashion. So let's revisit the definition of an event by first attributing some more characteristics to it:

• An event is dynamic. In other words, there is no standard duration or scope bounding any given event.
• Events can occur at multiple levels of context. This can extend from the subatomic level up through to a universal scale. Those levels of context can become a more or less de facto Event Taxonomy.
• Events are grouped within reference frames, those frames inhabit all levels of context (in varying sizes).
• An event requires at least one entity and in most cases two in order to occur. (I'll explain this is more detail later - situations with only one involve humans).
• An event involves some interchange of energy. On the atomic scale this could be visualized as electrons colliding, on the cellular it could be white blood cells engulfing bacteria and absorbing their energy or on our scale it might be more subtle - one action impacts the causality chain of others (some within the same frame of reference, others outside of it). There is the possibility that this interchange may provide some sort of identifiable signature (not unlike some of the phenomena we search for in subatomic physics when looking for new particles we think exist but haven't captured or detected yet).
• All events have a beginning and end point, however events can overlap and events can be chained together in a variety of different ways. Event chains can also follow distinct trajectories within timespace called "event paths" (or 'continuity paths' - more on that later).
• Events occur within a given time phase (that phase is a combination of a number of factors including frame, context and information velocity).
• Measuring an event impacts or changes that event. In other words, the Heisenberg principle applies. 
• The duration of an event is dictated by the duration required to complete any given interaction or set of interactions. 
• No two events are exactly the same. 
• Events inhabit a specific, definable region of spacetime - however this region (or set of coordinates as the event moves along with spacetime) cannot be accurately identified using the current method for assigning location in 4 dimensional spacetime (4 vector coordinates - more on that later).
• Human perception adds a number of complications to the nature of events that must be resolved if we ever intend to develop consistent framework for understanding them. For example, determinations of how to group or separate events will at first be a somewhat subjective exercise - as an example of that I've included an illustration of a somewhat arbitrary framework for doing it directly below.  
• If we accept some of the key precepts of relativity and current evidence it is clear that events from past, present and future can exist in one simultaneous frame of reference, at least indirectly (more on this later).
• Events exhibit simultaneity - in others words, the entities within it share a 'now' which is defined by the ability to synchronize information across / over the span of the event. This is typically described in physics as the ability to transmit information using light thus it is bounded by the C or constant speed of light.  

This represent a potential way to stack or organize events...

Based on these characteristics then, here is a somewhat modified base definition for "Event:"

An event is an identifiable portion of spacetime, characterized by the interaction of entities within its scope of relative simultaneity.  

I've noted that scope is bounded by relative simultaneity for two reasons:

1. That for human entities / observers, simultaneity can extend to significant distances through use of technology. (more on that later). 
2. That at the Quantum or subatomic level, (and potentially at the universal level) information exchange is not restricted by C. 

In our next post we talk a little bit about travelling to a nearby star and its implications to our views of spacetime and introduce reference frames in more detail.



copyright 2013, Stephen  Lahanas