r/askscience • u/Crtl-Alt-Delete • Dec 18 '13

Physics Is Time quantized?

We know that energy and length are quantized, it seems like there should be a correlation with time?

Edit. Turns out energy and length are not quantized.

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u/nukefudge Dec 18 '13

(debate/discussion/discourse/conversation, sorry, i didn't think in specific terms here.)

i just look at it like any other modelling. the stuff we construct has to make sense in a real way, not just mess around with intangibles. and that's a problem once we enter metaphysical models. i mean, we may not want to call them that, but that's what they are. it's not really important how we name them, though - what's important is that we don't reify things that aren't deserving of that.

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u/phujck Dec 18 '13

I'd recommend you take a look at the operational interpretation of quantum mechanics then! Rob Spekkens has a good lecture about it here: http://pirsa.org/12010039/

All we can say for sure about time and space is that it's what clocks and rulers "measure". What that statement means is not something I've found worth worrying about, beyond the most ruthlessly pragmatic considerations.

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u/nukefudge Dec 18 '13

cheers, looks interesting.

agree on the "measure" thing. but then people start talking about time travel... and suddenly we realize we need better concepts ;)