The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics

PART 2

The Invisible Framework and the Ultimate Arena

Newton introduced two ‘great invisibles’ as the arena of physics: absolute space and time. In Part 2 we shall see why they have appeared for so long to be better suited to acting as the frame of the world than Platonia. It is all to do with an issue that physicists and philosophers have been arguing about for centuries: is motion absolute or relative? Newton’s position has seemed to be so strong that many people still believe it cannot be overthrown. But it can. The demonstration of the relatively simple solution in Newtonian physics will prepare us for the almost miraculous way in which things work out in Einstein’s theory (Part 3). They give the strongest suggestion that quantum cosmology – and hence our universe – is timeless. That we come to in Parts 4 and 5. Chapter 4 is a brief historical introduction, and sets the scene for the remainder of Part 2 – and for much of the rest of the book.