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The Challenges of Time: Myth, Physics, Environment

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This book represents a journey through the history of science in regards to the concept of time, specifically, the question as to whether it is absolute, relative, or irreversible.

The best-known contribution, or at least the most popular one, came from Einstein. He took the illusion that time was universal, a concept dating back, essentially, to Galileo and Newton, and shattered it, both within and without the scientific community.

Thermodynamics teaches us that time has a preferential direction, i.e., forward, and is irreversible, as shown by Prigogine and his theories on dissipative structures and complex systems. Time is not only an “external spectator” to what happens, but assiduously takes part in making it happen.

The concept of thermodynamics shows us how time is linked with environmental issues, as creator and destroyer. The author explores the relationships of cause and effect and how it can help in measuring the various eras of the planet, as well as understanding the beings that inhabit it.

This book will be a valuable read for students, researchers, and interested laypersons alike.

Author(s): Walter Grassi
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022

Language: English
Pages: 152
City: Cham

Preface
Contents
1 Introduction
2 From Myth to Experimental Science
2.1 Walking My Dog
2.2 From Kronos to Aristotle
2.3 The New Experimental Science
References
3 Charges, Magnets and Light
3.1 Moving Charges and Magnetism
3.2 The Electromagnetic Field and the Lorentz Hypothesis
Reference
4 Thermodynamics
4.1 Time in Classical Thermodynamics (The Arrow of Time)
4.2 Time and the Thermodynamics of Dissipative Structures
References
5 The Time of Relativity
5.1 There is no One Faster Than You
5.2 Einstein and Special Relativity
5.3 A Bit of Minkowski Geometry
5.4 Does Time Depend Only on the Observer?
References
6 The Time of Man and the Time of the Earth
6.1 Gaia the Living Planet
6.2 A Simple Interaction Model
6.3 The Horror of Unconscious Human Stupidity or a Gaia Signal of Intolerance?
6.4 Finally
References
Conclusions