HOME  INTERVIEWS  RESOURCES  NEWS  ABOUT

View by:  Subject  Theme  Question  Term  Person  Event

What about other fields in physics and cosmology: do they favor a flowing view of time? Cosmology would seem to favor the flowing view over the block universe, since we regularly talk about an expanding universe - clearly a temporal concept. Again, though, the underlying theory - general relativity - is constructed on the bedrock of special relativity, and so it too can be given a timeless interpretation, and the model of an expanding universe can be seen as a mathematical abstraction.

Similarly, quantum mechanics can be given a timeless or a flowing time interpretation. The clearest exception to this problem of competing interpretations is probably non-linear, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, which strongly favors a temporal interpretation. The problem here is that most scientists do not take it as a fundamental theory, but a derivative of other more fundamental ones. So the debate continues.

 Russell Physics Bibliography 
To return to the previous topic, click on your browser's 'Back' button.

Go to Physics and Cosmology Topic Index

Special Relativity, Time, and Eternity

Physics and Cosmology: Topic Index
Physics and Cosmology in the 20th Century
Special Relativity
General Relativity
Quantum Physics
Thermodynamics, Chaos, and Complexity
Relating Science and Theology
The Theology of Creation
Big Bang Cosmology and Creation Theology
The Anthropic Principle and Creation Theology
The Theology of Providence
God’s Providence and Quantum Mechanics
Evil and the Problem of Suffering in Nature
Science and the Spiritual Quest

Source:


Dr. Robert J. Russell

Bibliography

See also:

Physics and Cosmology
Theology
The Relation of Science & Religion
Does God Act?
Was the Universe Designed?
Did the Universe Have a Beginning?
Steven Weinberg and John Polkinghorne Debate on Design
Sir Isaac Newton
Albert Einstein
Niels Bohr
Werner Heisenberg
Galaxies and Nebulae
Books on Physics and Theology