The Structure and Function of Time.

Part 1.
Modern Myths.

An understanding of the new physics of time is of the utmost importance if one seeks for a deeper understanding of the universe. It explains how the speed of light can vary and galaxies are formed by quantum gravity and many other phenomena that have been headaches to scientists over the past century. When attempting to analyse something so common place yet elusive as time, it is best to keep rigidly to known scientific facts and observations so that speculation is kept to a minimum. We must strive to recognize its characteristics and function. Something so complex as time has evolved in the universe for a purpose that is likely to be equally complex and multifaceted, so we must flesh out the characteristics of time and fit it onto its skeleton of functionality. If we do this step by step, we will keep clear of making any great leaps of faith and avoid creating a pictorial myth, such as the one we have indulged in over the past hundred years under the name of general relativity.

Time and General Relativity.

Having referred to general relativity's explanation of time as a pictorial myth, I feel obliged to explain why this is before proceeding further.

At the beginning of the twentieth century scientists were just coming to grips with the idea that time could be a variable. By variable, is meant that time can be in a contracted (fast) state or in a dilated or stretched out (slower) state. These states are comparative only, because if you are living in one of these time states it would be your real time, so you wouldn't be aware of any contraction or dilation. The only way of becoming aware of time variation is if you are able to compare your state with that of another time state or 'time domain' as they are called. Eventually after almost half a century, it proved to be a simple and uncomplicated matter to demonstrate the existence of these different time domains. All it took was to run atomic clocks in two different time domains and note by what amount they diverged over a time interval. Because time is more dilated near to a massive body like the Earth, this could be achieved by placing a clock at the top of a high tower, in contracted time and another at the bottom in more dilated time.

For the previous two centuries the world had accepted time to be as described by Isaac Newton. Time for him was something that flowed uniformly in a flat continuum, without variation throughout the universe. New ideas on time and light, burst upon the scene, right at the beginning of the twentieth century, with special relativity in 1905 and again with general relativity in 1915. The chronology is of great importance because whilst there was a new thinking on time, the old habits of the established Newtonian theory, were to die hard. this led to a confusion between these two schools of opinion. It will of course be necessary to identify such areas of confusion and put them right, to be able to put forward the new Tempo field theory. However, for the moment I will confine my remarks to the shortcomings of the finished picture presented by general relativity.

At the outset, general relativity reflects the old ideas by virtue of the starting condition it requires for time. This takes the form of being a flat continuum throughout the universe, in common with space. This is pretty much the same as Newton described it two hundred years before. Just as previously, no reason is given why time is flat or what it is or where it comes from. This picture just had to be accepted as it is, like any other myth. General relativity tries to accommodate the new ideas about the variability of time, by superimposing them on this initial picture. The flat continuum of space and time was to become dented and warped when matter is introduced into it. As before no account is given of how time is dented and warped. It is just required to do so to comply with such data as they had. Just as the ancients did with their myths, the entire picture is made up to fit the facts. Those parts of the picture that are derived from a close adherence to scientific observation will be successful in making predictions and those parts that are more fanciful will lead us astray. It is the task of the modern day scientist to sort out which is which and suggest new theories.

The scientist today has to recognize that there were two muddles, one each for special and general relativity. So let's examine the muddle that was the precursor to special relativity.

Part 2.
The First Muddle - Special Relativity and the Speed of Light.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the questions were first examined as to how, and at what speed, light is propagated, there were four pieces of data, in the public domain, already generally accepted. In chronological order these were:-

1. The speed of light is not instantaneous. It is finite and approximately 300,000 kilometres a second. As was found by Romar in 1675.
2. All electromagnetic waves, which includes light, travel at a constant speed of 299,792.458 kilometres a second. As was determined by the equations of James Clerk Maxwell in 1864.
3. The speed of light remains constant even when the observer moves towards the source of the light. As was determined by Michelson and Morley in 1887.
4. The speed of light also remains constant even when the source of the light moves towards the observer. As was verified by the work of Willem De Sitter, a contemporary of Einstein.

Special relativity was arrived at from the misconception that the only way the four pieces of data could each be right, was if the speed of all rays of light for all observers, regardless of their speed or position in the universe, was a constant 299,792.458 kilometers a second. This deduction was simply wrong, as it relied solely on pre-time-dilation-physics. The fact that Maxwell's equations were derived in 1864, some forty years before time dilation was thought about, was not taken into account. Insufficient weight was given to the fact that his equations merely gave the speed of light relative to the mean time dilation for people on Earth. If Maxwell had known that time was a variable, he would have gone on to say that the speed of light is constant relative to the time dilation of the observer. In other words if the time of the observer dilates or stretches more than that on Earth, then the speed of light for him increases.

Because special relativity does not recognized the speed of light to be a variable, but 'straightjackets' it into being a constant at a fixed speed, it became necessary in order to make the arithmetic work to convert the measurement of distance into a variable. This has the somewhat unfortunate effect of reducing the theory to the realms of magic. Perhaps the word magic here is too colourful and not literal enough. Possibly the expression 'mathematical fiction' would be more appropriate. In any event, it is something that is made up to make the picture work, that does not have a scientific explanation. For example to illustrate the extent of this fiction if you were in a spaceship travelling at close to the speed of light, the entire universe in the line of your travel is now required to shrink and if you reached the speed of light it would reduce to zero size and disappear. A neat trick but entirely without explanation as to how the universe manages to shrink. If that is not bizarre enough, if you were to look at this fast moving spaceship going past you would see it also shrink in its line of travel to zero size. While this is happening the internal size of the spaceship has to remain normal.

All this is just a sticking plaster remedy to try to keep a dead theory going. If special relativity was a stand alone idea this wouldn't matter very much. Unfortunately, over the past hundred years, the acceptance of special relativity has influenced almost all the present ideas on cosmology. Most importantly the failure to pick up on the variability of the speed of light, meant that a wrong turn was made when considering gravity. It gave rise to the need for any theory of gravity to make up for the short comings of special relativity. The new theory that was conceived from the misunderstanding and so can never be better than partially correct was, of course, general relativity.

The Second Muddle - General Relativity and Gravity.

The problem with having the speed of light a constant 'c' is that when light is produced in a place that has dilated time, such as on a massive star, it is argued that the slowing of time there reduces the frequency of the light. If the frequency notionally goes down, the actual wavelength of the light is required to go up, to keep the speed constant and to account for the observed redshift. This contention is wrong although at first glance it looks plausible. It appears credible because in normal circumstances when we alter the frequency of light we are doing so here on Earth in more or less constant time. In Earth time it is not possible to alter frequency without also altering wavelength, so that we continue to see the light at a constant speed of 300,000 kilometers a second. However, general relativity confuses the issue by applying these special circumstances of Earth time throughout the universe, where time may be more or less dilated than here on Earth.

This misdirection has proved to be of profound importance. It has thrown us off at a tangent from the true path, a diversion that has lasted for over a hundred years. It lasted for so long because of the symmetry of physics. The symmetry often makes it possible to obtain the correct results but for the wrong reasons. For example, in calculations that should be relying on time dilation as a factor, inertial mass has been substituted. This is possible because it is time dilation that causes the illusion of increase in inertial mass, so the illusion can sometimes be substituted for the reality. This has happened in the case of the equation of E=mc², and in calculating the progressional advance of the orbit of mercury. This isn't too bad in circumstances where the results can be checked by observation but generally leads us catastrophically off course. In this regard we must reconsider black holes, singularities, cosmic redshift and the expansion of the universe, dark matter and dark energy and the explanation for the microwave background radiation. Most importantly we can never hope to understand quantum gravity using general relativity. Such a sweeping statement about quantum gravity demands explanation. Fortunately it can be given without difficulty now that we know that the speed of light is a variable.

Part 3.
The Tempo Field Theory, the Key to Quantum Gravity.

General relativity was formulated to account for the apparent missing half of the gravitational energy that is required to bend light to the degree we see it. The redshift of light that we can readily measure using spectroscopes, apparently only indicates half the required drop in frequency or energy. The word apparent is used here advisedly as the way the gravitational redshift is formed is being misconstrued.

The problem lies in the fact that it is common ground that time on a gravitationally massive star will be dilated, so the light from it will be red shifted when we see it. Differences become apparent between general relativity and the Tempo field theory when we consider how the redshift is actually caused and the amount of energy it represents.

As we have seen, general relativity has the speed of light remain a constant in all circumstances, so it becomes necessary in that theory for the frequency of light produced on the star, to slow down and its wavelength to be stretched to comply with the theory. These changes are said to take place on the star and not as the light travels to us. On the other hand, things are altogether different in the new Tempo field theory. In this theory the very opposite happens. The speed of light increases with the time dilation on the star and as there is no stretching of the wavelength required, the frequency of the light has to go up. It actually goes up by the same amount as general relativity has it going down. The redshift effect is then produced by the light traversing the time differential as between the star and the Earth.

So the amount of stretching of the light at the star is zero, increasing progressively as the light travels towards the Earth with its frequency dropping from its elevated level on the star to its Earth value. This results in the amount of redshift always being the mean average of the frequency drop or energy used. The mean average of a quantity from zero to maximum is always half the maximum. The redshift therefore indicates all the gravitational effect and not just half. There is no missing half of gravitational effect that needed to be artificially accounted for with general relativity. It was only ever a misconception born out of special relativity. We therefore, now have a full explanation of quantum gravity, the holy grail of cosmology.

Part 4.
A Description of the Nature of Time.

Time is something that exists in its own right and is not bent or warped by an external agency such as gravity. This statement amounts to a throwing down of the Tempo field gauntlet, as it is the very reverse of what time is thought to be by most theoretical physicists. But we will go on to prove that it accords with observation as well as theory and so must stand until it is disproved by some scientific experiment or further observation. This method of proceeding is referred to as applying Ockham's razor. In this case it applies to the cutting away of all theories that are counter to observed phenomena and which cannot be scientifically proved. It has been, and in large measure still remains the case, that theory on the structure of time is based on the space-time construct of general relativity. As we have seen above this was an unsuccessful attempt to rectify the errors of special relativity. So let us step by observational step, examine the clues that indicate the structure and function of time.

The Source of Time.

The first inescapable idea we form of the function of time is that it regulates the rate of expenditure of energy. No process can take place, or matter exist, without time as well as energy. We know from research that matter can be likened to frozen energy and that all matter is a form of process with its own energy and time. Time allows energy to function and consequently matter to exist. The relationship between energy and time is symbiotically close. One cannot exist without the other. Time can be thought of as energy's way of quantizing itself. Another way of expressing this is to say that time is the atoms way of packaging its energy for use with equal facility, in any part of the universe. Certainly it is the case that energy cannot exist in any form anywhere in the universe, without time. We also know, from the world around us, that energy is comprised in and emanates from the atom. There is no other source of energy or matter known to science.

From the simple and natural picture formed when the facts are marshaled in this way, there is an admissible deductive step we can make. We can conclude that the source of time will also need to be the atom, if time is required to parallel energy outwards from its inception. This realization is of pivotal importance, for this revolutionary if prosaic concept opens up whole new avenues of scientific thought and research. The acceptance of the postulate that time has a source, means that it does not merely exist as a flat continuum, requiring objects to warp and twist it as in general relativity. It gives a time field model that enables great advances in such areas as how time varies in an independent time field, action at a distance, quantum gravity, and the quantum particle-wave duality.

The Structure and Function of the Tempo Field.

We know that atoms absorb or give off electromagnetic waves, which are a pure form of energy. Such waves are produced in a quantized form, that is to say, in discrete packages of energy. It can readily be envisaged that the atom simultaneously emits a virtual time wave to enable the quantizing to take place at source. Because it is emitted radially in all directions from a small point source, it will necessarily obey the inverse square law, that is to say, it will weaken at the rate of the square of the distance. Since we know from observation that time obeys this law, it is a strong indication of its point source, determining it to be the atom. This virtual time wave I have called the Tempo.

Because time is infinitely fast it will not have the normal wave action for us, but will be like a standing wave that is constantly being renewed. In this model these waves are virtual standing waves. They have a very small wavelength, at the Planck scale, so that they will not pass to either side of even the very smallest particle. Being individually weak they are nonetheless able to act in concert to form a variable Tempo field.

Because it is a virtual weakly interacting standing wave of very small wavelength, it can 'shine' through matter, uniting with the Tempo waves of the matter's own atoms. Locally therefore the Tempo field will be at its densest, that is to say, where time is the most dilated, at the centre of a star or planet. The larger the star or planet, the greater the time dilation.

Time and Motion.

The time of a body can be further dilated by increasing its speed. This can be explained when we envisage the Tempo field comprising virtual waves. Each wave is propagated instantaneously, having the effect of a standing wave. If we now think of a body moving through such a standing wave, the general effect of the wave on the body will be increased by the wave's compression. This is similar to the Doppler effect. The compression or bluing of the time wave will intensify and therefore dilate the time locally on the moving body. It will not however, affect the field. It is only a local effect, particular to the body and does not increase the strength of the Tempo field radiated from it.

The reader will have noticed how this model of time closely resembles the way light works. Indeed, if it wasn't for the immediacy of time they would almost mirror one another. I submit that this is not just a coincidence. Light and time are so closely linked because light is propagated relative to time. We perceive light to be propagated relative to our time dilation. This conclusion is unavoidable when we consider the four items of data for the propagation of light, referred to above, that were available in 1905. Their connecting feature is that they are all time dependant.

There is a further feature of the interdependence of light and time that serves to illustrate that they are both emitted from the atom and that time is not warped by mass or gravity. If an imaginary journey is taken to the centre of the Sun where the electromagnetic energy will be at its brightest, then we will find that time also is at its brightest, that is to say at its most dilated. On the other hand gravity will not exist there. It will be cancelled out in all directions. So if time and light are at their maximum at a point in the Sun, where gravity does not exist, we can deduce that time as well as light is produced from the atoms making up the Sun's mass.

Part 5.
The Dual Function of the Tempo.

The Tempo exists in two distinct forms or 'time dimensions'. A time dimension is not to be confused with time dilation. Time dilations take place within a time dimension and the transfer of information can occur between two time dilations but not different time dimensions. Time dimensions have similar wave structure but are totally independent and do not allow interaction with other dimensions.

The first of the two dimensions, (the Quantum-Tempo), is the one that controls the internal structure and frequency of the atom and the electromagnetic wave it produces. That such a mechanism exists is indicated by the fact that anything that travels at the speed of light usually experiences an infinite dilation of its time. For light's time to be infinitely dilated, it would effectively bring time and its ability to propagate to a halt. No electromagnetic change or oscillation within the light wave could take place. There must therefore be a mechanism to allow the light wave to propagate at a rate that is constant for the wave. This would allow the atom and light wave to maintain internally a constant frequency and rate of quanta. This frequency and quantization, that is to say, the parceling up of its energy, are specific to the class of atom. The electromagnetic wave's time dimension cannot be accessed or even perceived externally. It controls and keeps constant its internal state and is independent of external time.

The second dimension, (Macro-Tempo), is external to the atom. It is transmitted outward from it as a Tempo wave. As we have already seen, the Tempo being a virtual wave will be weak, with a short wavelength. It will be able to shine through matter. It will however, be able to interact with like waves, so will be able to act in concert and form a Tempo field. This variable Tempo field will form an unbroken continuum throughout the universe.

A distinctive feature of the Tempo field is that it is transmitted instantaneously. Time cannot take time to travel. This is of importance when considering gravitational effect, for it means that it also is instantaneous, contradicting general relativity.

As a result of there being two time dimensions in the Tempo field model, one constant and the other variable, an observer in the variable Tempo field will be free to measure the constantly oscillating quantum waves such as light, as having a frequency and speed commensurate with his Tempo time. The more dilated his time, the higher he will measure the frequency and speed of the light to be. On the other hand, for a given wavelength the rate of emission of quanta per second will be constant and not vary. However, the more dilated each second is for the observer the higher he will measure the frequency each quantum or photon contains. In other words, a dilated second will have the same number of quanta as a contracted second but each quantum will have more energy, that is to say, a higher frequency.

The recognition of this feature is an important breakthrough in quantum physics. It answers the problem as to where the extra energy comes from for 'quantum tunneling'.

Part 6.
Proof that Time in the Form of the Tempo Field gives Rise to the Gravitational Effect.

As we are already aware, it is argued that in general relativity somehow the mass of a body causes space and time to warp. The theory goes on to say, it is this warping that makes bodies move as if under a gravitational attraction. The flaw in this can be seen immediately. If the gravitational attraction were really caused in that way by the mass of an object warping space and time, the warping and therefore, the gravitational effect would be at its maximum at the centre of the mass. This is not what we find: there is at the centre of a mass, an equal and opposite canceling out of the gravitational effect, just where it should be at its maximum. The gravitational pull falls away the nearer one gets to the centre of a mass. There is no gravitational pull, at all, at the centre of a massive body.

On the other hand, when the Tempo Field Theory is applied these flaws disappear. The time dilation in the Tempo field as one would expect, maximizes at the centre of a mass but there will be no gravitational effect there. This is because the gravitational effect is not caused by the time dilation alone; a time differential is the essential element that is required. In other words, the gravitational pull is the effect of a quantum wave being in the Tempo field where there is a time difference from one side of the wave to the other. The gravitational effect is caused by this time differential across the wave, one side of the wave having more energy than the other. The wave will therefore, propagate more energetically in that direction. It is this propensity to move that we call gravity. The fact that the wave is merely situated in a variable time field, gives rise to the effect. We find however, that in the massive body this degree of time differential across a quantum wave, gradually approaches zero the closer it is to the centre. At the centre the time dilation will be the same on all sides of the wave. This means that the propensity to move, that is to say the gravitational effect, is also reduced to zero at that point.

There is another observation of the utmost importance that proves that time is the agent for gravity and not the other way about. Put simply, it is possible to have time dilation without gravity but it is not possible to have gravity without time dilation. This fact alone precludes the premise of general relativity. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is no gravity at the centre of a massive object such as a planet, yet time is greatly dilated there. It is also common ground that a fast moving object will have its time similarly dilated but will not increase in gravitational effect. This is just as well, since otherwise any fast moving particle travelling close to the speed of light would have an infinite gravitational attraction that would pull in the universe.

For further reading see 'Time - The Hidden Dimensions of The Missing Physics' by Frank Atkinson, available for purchase and review with extensive free summaries on www.tempofieldtheory.co.uk