We know that time flows from the past to the future. We remember the past and make predictions about the future. You stir cream in your coffee, and it mixes in. It doesn't un-mix. The classical understanding of the nature of time is that time is absolute - that time ticks by the seconds, minutes, hours, and years at the same rate for everyone. The directionality of time comes from the idea in classical physics called the 'second law of thermodynamics', which states that a quantity called 'entropy' (which is a measure of the disorder of a system) always increases.

We see time as absolute

Clocks tick at different rates depending on where they are in Earth's gravitational field. From Einstein's perspective, time is integral to reality itself.  Looking at the way the equations of quantum mechanics evolve in time, you could run the tape forwards or backwards without knowing the difference.  Time is a parameter in the quantum world. It is just a number.  But quantum systems are not isolated, they are always interacting with their surroundings, which gives a direction to time.

Gravity affects time

Because of the equations of special relativity and the nature of the speed of light, Einstein was forced to let go of the Newtonian idea of absolute time.  Einstein taught that time and space are connected. Space and time are relative. It ticks at different rates for different people, depending on your frame of reference. It's malleable and stretchable. But Einstein takes it further with his 'general theory of relativity' and says what Newton taught about the invisible force of gravity pulling objects together is really about the shape of space-time.

Einstein's view of time

This interview is an episode from The Well, our new publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the John Templeton Foundation. Subscribe to The Well on YouTube ► https://bit.ly/thewell-youtube Watch Jim Al-Khalili 's next interview ► What if quantum physics could eradicate illness? https://youtu.be/gElOu6WzgiU Is our experience of time different from how time actually works? Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical physicist and author of The Joy of Science, offers a lesson on the science of time — from Newton to Einstein to quantum thermodynamics. Going beyond the classical “common sense” view of time as absolute, Al-Khalili explains how Einstein changed everything when he taught us that time is relative and time and space are connected. “Time," says Al-Khalili. “ticks by at different rates for different people depending on your frame of reference, and it’s malleable and it’s stretchable.” Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/the-well/the-science-of-time/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Jim Al-Khalili: Jim is a multiple award-winning science communicator renowned for his public engagement around the world through writing and broadcasting and a leading academic making fundamental contributions to theoretical physics, particularly in nuclear reaction theory, quantum effects in biology, open quantum systems and the foundations of quantum mechanics. Jim is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He received his PhD in nuclear reaction theory in 1989 and has published widely in the field. His current interest is in open quantum systems and the application of quantum mechanics in biology. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read more from The Well: I put a camera on a monkey. Here’s how it shook my understanding of humanity ► https://bigthink.com/the-well/awe-ani... Atheism is not as rare or as rational as you think ► https://bigthink.com/the-well/atheism... System 1 vs. System 2 thinking: Why it isn’t strategic to always be rational ► https://bigthink.com/the-well/system-... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About The Well Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds. So what do they think? How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions? Let’s dive into The Well. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join The Well on your favorite platforms: ► Facebook: https://bit.ly/thewellFB ► Instagram: https://bit.ly/thewellIG

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This interview is an episode from The Well, our new publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the John Templeton Foundation.

Subscribe to The Well on YouTube ► https://bit.ly/thewell-youtube
Watch Jim Al-Khalili 's next interview ► What if quantum physics could eradicate illness? https://youtu.be/gElOu6WzgiU

Is our experience of time different from how time actually works? Jim Al-Khalili, theoretical physicist and author of The Joy of Science, offers a lesson on the science of time — from Newton to Einstein to quantum thermodynamics.

Going beyond the classical “common sense” view of time as absolute, Al-Khalili explains how Einstein changed everything when he taught us that time is relative and time and space are connected.

“Time," says Al-Khalili. “ticks by at different rates for different people depending on your frame of reference, and it’s malleable and it’s stretchable.”

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/the-well/the-science-of-time/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

About Jim Al-Khalili:
Jim is a multiple award-winning science communicator renowned for his public engagement around the world through writing and broadcasting and a leading academic making fundamental contributions to theoretical physics, particularly in nuclear reaction theory, quantum effects in biology, open quantum systems and the foundations of quantum mechanics.

Jim is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He received his PhD in nuclear reaction theory in 1989 and has published widely in the field. His current interest is in open quantum systems and the application of quantum mechanics in biology.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Read more from The Well: 
I put a camera on a monkey. Here’s how it shook my understanding of humanity
► https://bigthink.com/the-well/awe-ani...
Atheism is not as rare or as rational as you think
► https://bigthink.com/the-well/atheism...
System 1 vs. System 2 thinking: Why it isn’t strategic to always be rational
► https://bigthink.com/the-well/system-...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

About The Well
Do we inhabit a multiverse? Do we have free will? What is love? Is evolution directional? There are no simple answers to life’s biggest questions, and that’s why they’re the questions occupying the world’s brightest minds.

So what do they think?

How is the power of science advancing understanding? How are philosophers and theologians tackling these fascinating questions?

Let’s dive into The Well.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Join The Well on your favorite platforms:
► Facebook: https://bit.ly/thewellFB 
► Instagram: https://bit.ly/thewellIG

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