What is Time?

                           8/31/99

                       By Joshua Gulick 

I thought that perhaps I should write a bit about time, because I
reference the fourth dimension quite often in my work.  People
often state that time is the fourth dimension.  I see no reason to
believe that other than convention.  And I don't like conventions,
because of the funny hats and the name tags. 

Anyway, I believe that time is just a convenience than we have
dreamed up for ourselves.  It helps us know when we are late for
something.  It helps us predict things.  And it helps us reference the
past.  But really, it is just made up periods based upon the rotation
of our planet and it's journey around our star.  Well, at least that's
what time used to be based on.  Now it's based on the vibrations of
Cesium atoms in atomic clocks.  So, however fast the atoms of
cesium vibrate is how fast our "time" is progressing.  What does
this have to do with the fourth dimension?  Not Much. 

Oh, there have been numerous experiments that have determined
the Cesium in atomic clocks vibrates faster when moving faster. 
What does this mean?  

It means that matter vibrates faster, the faster it moves through
space.  And that matter vibrates slower the slower it moves through
space.  What this really means is that "time" (if you want to call the
vibrations and progressive force interactions of matter, "time") is
actually caused and is a function of our movement through space. 
The earth spins and we move through space.  We gain
more vibrational frequency by moving at the same time through
space around the Sun.  We gain even more by orbiting the galactic
center.  And our galaxy moves, too.  If we didn't move through
space, nothing would happen because our atoms in our head would
not vibrate.  So do you see what time is?  

As our planet spins and the earth orbits the sun, our speed through
space actually varies.  This causes our vibrations to speed up and
slow down with "time" actually moving in cycles of faster and
slower vibrations.  Time moves faster (things vibrate faster) on
the dark side of the earth.  And time moves faster when we are
farthest from the galactic core.  This happens the same way that a
bicycle tire moves faster through space than the spokes do close to
the axle.  We cannot notice it, of course, because it affects
everything... our brains, our atomic clocks, just the same.  
[Perhaps the spacial differencial of vibratory rate is quite
important.  I will ponder it.]

The only question left about time is the why atoms vibrate faster
when they move faster?  I believe it is a function of moving
through 3D space.  (No kidding, you say).  Yes,  I think that the
relative energy density of the vacuum, ether, space, whatever you
prefer to call it, is the determining factor of vibrational rate.  When
things move faster through the ether, they experience a greater
relative energy density. 

Thanks for reading this.