Minkowski Diagram

[Dzbabykel]

Stemming off from another thread I just posted, I found this quite interesting and wanted other view points or comments on it.

This is the Minkowski diagram which shows three-dimensional space is combined with time to form four-dimensional space-time. Space consists of spatial points, space-time consists of spatial-events each of which represents a particular place at a particular time.

In the diagram I posted, one's life forms a kind of four-dimensional "worm" in space-time. The tip of the worm's tail corresponds to the event of your birth, and the front of its head to the even of your death. The line along which the worm lies is called the worldline.

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But what if space-time becomes so distorted that some worldlines form closed loops (also called timelike curves or CTCs)? Meaning, if an object, traveling through its worldline in space-time, returns to the same space-time point it started from at the moment it left. Theoretically, this could happen if there was a body massive enough to bend two points in space-time on top of itself. (When I read this I thought of Desmond)

Anyway I took this part from the article I read and found it intersting since the diagram was called the MINKOWSKI DIAGRAM....haha seemed fitting :)

[Robo42]

You are on fire tonite Dz. More good stuff. Are you sure you want to go into Law? I think you have more brains than that.

[bunnydixon]

its like the back to the future diagram he draws (kinda lol) but its very interesting.

[Dzbabykel]

I just think its neat that its called the Minkowski diagram.....like George Minkowski. These writers are going to drive me to the nut house!!

[james220]

I found the MINKOWSKI DIAGRAM to be quite thought provoking. Whether it relates to the show or not, it's an interesting way to depict our lives. To me, each triangle on the diagram is a cone. The cone at the bottom represents the events and choices we've made to reach a specific point in time at a specific place in space. The cone at the top, the future, represents the events and choices I will make going forward. And yes, if you think of the path dimensionally, I can see how we "worm" our way through space and time.

This is making me think WAY too much before my second cup of coffee!!

[jacksnurse]

very well said james.....u are great at putting perspective on things:)

[james220]

Thanks Jacksnurse. Actually, I've had these thoughts before. Have you ever been driving along and looked at the person in the car next to you? Likely you don't know them, and they have a parallel world. They have their set of family and friends, their job, their home, their hobbies, etc. Your lives may never intersect, or reach the same point in time at the same place in space on the Minkowski Diagram. HOWEVER, now Ben's bunny runs into the road and they swerve their car into you. Now you've intersected. You're in the same place at the same time. You'll now have to interact and become a part of each others life. Trade insurance info, argue about fault, have emotions around the event, etc.

What I haven't got my mind around, for the purposes of the show ... what force suddenly moves you to "elsewhere" on the diagram?

[bunnydixon]

well put james.

[james220]

Here's a question for you. Does technology modify the Minkowski Diagram? With the advent of phones, the internet and other communication devices we can now interact at the same time, but not in the same place. Thoughts?

[Dzbabykel]

Here's a question for you. Does technology modify the Minkowski Diagram? With the advent of phones, the internet and other communication devices we can now interact at the same time, but not in the same place. Thoughts?

That's really interesting....it all confuses me in the simplest of terms so adding that question to the mix haha I'm not the best person to answer :p Great question though!

[bunnydixon]

oh that is a thought - one i am not able to cope with right now lol!

[james220]

Stemming off from another thread I just posted, I found this quite interesting and wanted other view points or comments on it.

This is the Minkowski diagram which shows three-dimensional space is combined with time to form four-dimensional space-time. Space consists of spatial points, space-time consists of spatial-events each of which represents a particular place at a particular time.

In the diagram I posted, one's life forms a kind of four-dimensional "worm" in space-time. The tip of the worm's tail corresponds to the event of your birth, and the front of its head to the even of your death. The line along which the worm lies is called the worldline.

<center>
<img src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/dzbabykel/ttlightcone.gif" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"><br><br>
</center>

But what if space-time becomes so distorted that some worldlines form closed loops (also called timelike curves or CTCs)? Meaning, if an object, traveling through its worldline in space-time, returns to the same space-time point it started from at the moment it left. Theoretically, this could happen if there was a body massive enough to bend two points in space-time on top of itself. (When I read this I thought of Desmond)

Anyway I took this part from the article I read and found it intersting since the diagram was called the MINKOWSKI DIAGRAM....haha seemed fitting :)

This is perhaps dzbabykel's most profound thread and it deserves to live on. Looking for thoughts on the Minkowski Diagram and how we worm our way through space and time. Of course, this may all be more interesting once we meet Minkowski.

[Dzbabykel]

Awww well thank you James!

[bunnydixon]

my OH has a maths degree so i thought i was ask him his thoughts on it (without seeing the picture - just based on my description) and he thinks the cone shape is due to the fact that as time passes, more events happen and you have more choices to make and obstacles to get round so there is a higher level of different outcomes.
as for the past, the path you choose from all those things, narrows and you end up the the here now point.

[TheCAD]

I didn't read everything.
Basically just looked at the diagram.

Is it a diagram depicting the "Many Worlds" model?
Many Worlds is the term used for the theory that all possible events do occur and thus you have an infinite amount of possible "worlds" which all exist. However, you only experience the one that resulted from the actions taken.

If that is what the diagram is depicting it brings up a interesting point that I had thought of...
Not only are there an infinite number of possibilities diverging from the present, but there are an infinite number of possibilities which could produce the present.

The most interesting thing about time travel is the fact that the majority of methods that are even remotely practical tend to "cheat" time instead of actually traveling through time. My basic point is that its relatively unlikely there will ever be a box where you enter it, press a button, and you are in the future/past. From my understanding just from the standpoint of what is physically possible. It is possible to speedup/slowdown time and also move space at a speed faster than light.

Wow...I really sound like a crazy. I gotta stop watching the History channel and reading wikipedia.

[thelawgiver]

Dz, have you been hanging out with Stephen Hawking?

And by the way, do you think Hawking watches LOST? It would hystrerical to see his theories on the show!

[Dzbabykel]

Oh man this may sound dumb but who is Stephen Hawking?? Haha the name sounds familiar....

[jackchick]

Smart guy in a wheel chair at base form description, but that's like saying lost is a sitcom. But all this sounds alot like the movie One. seen it?

[thelawgiver]

Astrophysicist who wrote: "A Brief History of Time". Check wikipedia for more.

[Dzbabykel]

Ah yes, I hang out with astrophysicists all the time.....thats how I roll ;)

[thelawgiver]

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes, and his popular works in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general. These include the runaway popular science bestseller A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the British Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.[1]

His key scientific works to date have included providing, with Roger Penrose, theorems regarding singularities in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation, or sometimes as Bekenstein-Hawking radiation.[2] His scientific career spans more than 40 years and his books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity and world-renowned theoretical physicist. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.[3] Hawking is disabled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known in the United States as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The illness has progressed over the years and he is now almost completely paralysed.

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[Dzbabykel]

He's hot...ow ow

[thelawgiver]

And as I understand, he was apparently quit the randy one. No joke.

[dezinio]

Oh man this may sound dumb but who is Stephen Hawking?? Haha the name sounds familiar....

He's only one of the most successful theoretical physicists of our lifetime. Yeah he wrote 'a brief history of time' which was groundbreaking in that there is basically no maths in the book as it was aimed at the gemeral public. All in all an absolute genius!

[Dzbabykel]

Yes thank you for reminding me :)

[dezinio]

No worries. After i'd replied, so had every1 else. Hate it when that happens!!

[james220]

Stemming off from another thread I just posted, I found this quite interesting and wanted other view points or comments on it.


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<img src="http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g273/dzbabykel/ttlightcone.gif" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"><br><br>
</center>


Did you notice that Daniel drew the top part of the Minkowski Diagram on his chalkboard after the maze experiment?

[bunnydixon]

And as I understand, he was apparently quit the randy one. No joke.

i feel a tad ill!

[King_Nate]

~its funny u spoke of hawkings, i just watched an episode if the SIMPSONS and hawkings was in it!!! it was GREAT~

[bunnydixon]

is that the one where he flies?

[beachblinkette]

The design also has 2 lines of symmetry. One vertical -one horizontal.It's a mirror effect.I think this is a very interesting diagram, but don't have any perceptive ideas to add. Thanks for the info!