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In the philosophy of space and time, eternalism [1] is an approach to the ontological nature of time, which takes the view that all existence in time is equally real, as opposed to presentism or the growing block universe theory of time, in which at least the future is not the same as any other time. [2]
Einstein's static universe, aka the Einstein universe or the Einstein static eternal universe, is a relativistic model of the universe proposed by Albert Einstein in 1917. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Shortly after completing the general theory of relativity , Einstein applied his new theory of gravity to the universe as a whole.
Philosophy of space and time is the branch of philosophy concerned with the issues surrounding the ontology and epistemology of space and time.While such ideas have been central to philosophy from its inception, the philosophy of space and time was both an inspiration for and a central aspect of early analytic philosophy.
Einstein's static universe is closed (i.e. has hyperspherical topology and positive spatial curvature), and contains uniform dust and a positive cosmological constant with value precisely = /, where is Newtonian gravitational constant, is the energy density of the matter in the universe and is the speed of light.
Einstein himself considered the introduction of the cosmological constant in his 1917 paper founding cosmology as a "blunder". [3] The theory of general relativity predicted an expanding or contracting universe, but Einstein wanted a static universe which is an unchanging three-dimensional sphere, like the surface of a three-dimensional ball in four dimensions.
The growing block universe, or the growing block view, is a theory of time arguing that the past and present both exist, and the future as yet does not. The present is an objective property, to be compared with a moving spotlight. By the passage of time more of the world comes into being; therefore, the block universe is said to be growing.
The block universe theory, also known as Eternalism, holds that past, present and future are all real, but the passage of time is an illusion. It is often said to have a scientific basis in relativity .
Norton lists several problems with Einstein's recounting, both historical and scientific: [7] 1. At 16 years old and a student at the Gymnasium in Aarau, Einstein would have had the thought experiment in late 1895 to early 1896. But various sources note that Einstein did not learn Maxwell's theory until 1898, in university. [7] [8] 2.