What is time?

Brother A asked me this question three times.

Before answering this question, I would like to introduce myself.

The author graduated from a 985 university with a bachelor's degree, and followed his supervisor to conduct research on quantum mechanics after a master's and doctoral degree.

I have a senior brother and I call him Senior Brother A.

Brother A is a true genius, he received a master's degree at the age of 23, then went to Princeton to study for a doctorate, and two years later received a doctorate and returned to China as a young man.

When Brother A was in college, he was a graduate student with his supervisor, but after returning to China, he returned to school with his own research funds and projects, and only occasionally came to the supervisor's laboratory to visit the door.

When I first met Brother A, Brother A asked me the same question I had mentioned at the beginning.

What is time?

Although the author has not thought too much about this question, as a doctor of physics in quantum mechanics, he has naturally read the definitions of his predecessors.

More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle first explained time.

Time is the measure of movement.

Things are constantly changing, and we measure --- change by "time".

Sounds very logical.

But if everything doesn't change, if everything doesn't move, will time stop? Does time not exist?

On the contrary, another great physicist, Isaac Newton, proposed the opposite concept, he believed that time is always in a uniform flow, it does not depend on anything external, and it exists absolutely.

In Newton's view, absolute time is untouchable, and can only be understood indirectly through calculation, that is, we give time, seconds, minutes, minutes, days......, but there is still a deviation from absolute time.

Obviously, with the progress of science, Newton's theory prevailed, but with the advent of a third scientist, a new concept of time took place.

Field!

Albert Einstein combined time and space and defined it as a gravitational field.

The beginning of time and the geometry of space are intertwined, proving that both Aristotle and Newton were both right and wrong to some extent.

But that doesn't mean it's a foregone conclusion about time.

The development of quantum mechanics has once again broken the definition of time.

"In the quantum microscopic world, everything is independent, and time is the same, not flowing uniformly, but like a kangaroo, jumping from one point to another, but the distance between this point may be smaller than Planck time."

"In other words, there is a minimum period of time under which there is no concept of time, at least not in the light of modern science."

This was the first time the author answered my brother's question at that time, and after learning the answer, my brother smiled and didn't say anything.

The second time I met Brother A was two years later, when Brother A was in a very bad condition, the research project was cut, and the tutor said that Brother A had fallen into the devil, and I met the demon brother in the café outside the school.

Raunchy, bearded, chicken-nest-like greasy hair, on a café table, holding a notebook and writing something.

"What is the time?"

The author was silent at the time, because the tutor told me the reason why Senior Brother A fell into the demon, and Senior Brother A fell into a crazy exploration of time and could not get out.

Seeing that the author did not answer, Senior Brother A was not surprised, and handed me the notebook in his hand with a smile, which was painted with photos of snake monsters, and these snakes had a common feature, they all had their mouths and tails.

"This is called Ouroboros, more than 1600 B.C., the sage of ancient Egypt, used this to represent the cyclical journey of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, called the "Eternal Cycle".

"The second is in Hindu mythology, the snake god Shasha surrounds the turtle god Kulima, as the foundation of the world, hunched and carrying eight elephants on his back."

"The third one is 5,600 years ago, my country's Lingjiatan Jade Dragon."

The author didn't understand what Brother A was doing with these three pictures, and after explaining the three pictures, Brother A didn't continue the topic, but got up and walked towards the door.

"Thank you for inviting Senior Brother to coffee, and in order to show your gratitude, you can turn to the next page."

The author looked at the next page in confusion, which recorded:

"Tao Te Ching": There is a mixture of things, born from nature. Lonely, independent, and unchanging, she can be the mother of the world. I don't know its name, the strong word says: Tao, and the name of the strong is said: big.

……

In the following years, I never saw Brother A again, until a mentor's birthday banquet, the mentor drank too much and told the whereabouts of Brother A.

It turned out that Senior Brother A was diagnosed with mental illness two years ago and had been sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

Unlike the second time when he was sloppy, Senior Brother A in the hospital had fair skin and bright eyes, and as always, Senior Brother A asked me the same question again.

What is time?

The author was very angry at the time, Senior Brother A, as the most optimistic disciple of the mentor, has such a high scientific research talent, why should he drill the horns of the bull and hold on to this problem.

"What is time, that's a question for the gods and God to think about, because time is created by the gods, or time itself represents the gods."

This is the author's nonsense under anger, but I didn't expect Senior Brother A to be silent because of this, and I left indignantly after dropping this sentence.

Now that I think about it, if I hadn't blurted out this sentence in anger at the time, maybe there wouldn't have been anything that followed.

Three days later, I received a phone call from a psychiatric hospital stating that Brother A was missing

A man under forty years of age, without illness or trauma, died in the ward, and it seemed that no other adjective could be used except "old age".

The doctor at the psychiatric hospital handed me a notebook, saying that the day before my brother's death, he had specially instructed the doctor to hand it over to me.

It was only after reading this note left by Senior Brother A that I knew why Senior Brother A fell into the devil.

To explain what exactly time is.

Senior Brother A imagined a world in his mind, a world that was similar to modern society but different.

What the author is doing now is to polish and display the story that happened in this world recorded by Senior Brother A in his notebook in front of all readers.

The author's writing is not good, if there is anything inappropriate, please forgive me.

A story is a story after all, so don't sit in the right seat.

Gossip aside, the story begins on the night the comet comets.

National Astronomical and Meteorological Service Comet Archive No. 678: On April 23, 2003, the Observatory tracked a comet that had never appeared before approaching the Sun.

According to the principle of who discovers it, Huaguo obtained the right to name the comet.

Because the comet resembles the icon of a sportswear brand in China, the comet that appeared for the first time in the eyes of humans was named Hongxing Erke Comet after the sports brand donated 30 million yuan to the Astronomical and Meteorological Bureau for astronomical exploration and research.

Ten years later, 2013, April 23.

Astronomical and Meteorological Bureau: At 0:01 a.m. on April 23, Comet Erke will approach the Sun again after a decade and will be observable on Earth.

Daily headline report: Hongxing Erke Group told Daily Finance that the company continued to donate 30 million to astronomical and meteorological research units.

Ten years later, 2023, April 23rd.

Astronomical and Meteorological Bureau: At 0:01 a.m. on April 23, Comet Erke will approach the Sun again after a decade, and its trajectory can be observed on Earth.

Daily headline report: Hongxing Erke Group told Daily Finance that the company continued to donate 30 million to astronomical and meteorological research units.