Concrete Time

Time doesn't have a state of rest. The concept of being "at rest" implies a state where something could potentially have a different velocity. Objects with mass can be at rest or in motion relative to a spatial coordinate. Time doesn't have mass, size, or shape, and it isn't an object that can be at rest or in motion.

 





The speed of light (or any electromagnetic radiation) in a vacuum is a constant, often denoted by 'c', regardless of its wavelength (λ). This is a cornerstone of physics. The relationship between speed (c), wavelength (λ), and frequency (f) is given by the fundamental wave equation:
 

c = λ * f 

Where:
c is the speed of light (constant)
λ is the wavelength
f is the frequency (the number of wave cycles passing a point per second)

 

Now, let's consider a hypothetical scenario: a wave with a wavelength (λ) that is the size of the entire universe. If λ is extremely large (approaching the size of the universe), and 'c' is constant, what happens to the frequency (f)?

Rearranging the equation:
 

f = c / λ

 

If λ is extremely large, dividing the constant 'c' by this huge number means the frequency (f) must be extremely small. A very small frequency means that the wave cycles happen very, very slowly. The period of the wave (the time it takes for one complete cycle, which is T = 1/f) would be incredibly long. If the wavelength (λ) is extremely large (on the scale of the universe), the frequency (f) becomes extremely small (approaching zero, but never actually zero).
 

Very large wavelength → Very low frequency


Very low frequency → Very long time period (T = 1/f)

 
 
In other words, this wave would have a period (the time it takes to complete one full cycle) roughly equal to the time required for light to traverse the scale of the observable universe, tens of billions of years. Since frequency is the number of oscillations per second, a frequency of zero means no oscillation occurs within any finite time period. That is, the wave would essentially be frozen in time. 
 
In physics, frequency is often linked to energy via Planck’s equation:
 

E = h * f

where:
h is Planck’s constant.

  
If f to 0, energy also approaches zero (rest energy), meaning no physical processes that depend on energy transitions (such as atomic or quantum interactions) would occur. If all fundamental oscillations in the universe ceased (assuming everything followed this same rule), there would be no measurable passage of time (time at rest) —since time in physics is often measured through periodic events like atomic vibrations, clock ticks, or even the motion of celestial bodies.


So what does this mean?


The frequency of a wave describes how often that specific wave oscillates or completes a cycle. It's a measure using time (cycles per unit of time), but it doesn't dictate the passage of time itself.

The passage of time is relative and depends on an observer's frame of reference. However, if all processes in the universe were governed by waves with infinite wavelengths, and thus zero frequency, there would be no observable changes anywhere. Since time is often defined operationally by changes (such as ticking clocks or moving particles), in such a scenario time would become meaningless from a practical standpoint.  
 
Time is a fundamental dimension of the universe, linked to space in spacetime. Its passage is related to causality, entropy, and the expansion of the universe. A slow-oscillating wave wouldn't halt this fundamental dimension. We could still measure this incredibly long wave period using clocks that are still ticking.


Even with a universe-sized wavelength, an observer could theoretically still measure other processes happening – atomic vibrations, light from distant stars (if this hypothetical wave isn't interfering with everything), radioactive decay, etc. These processes still occur over time.

So, if a wave with the wavelength of the universe existed, it would mean the frequency of that wave would be incredibly low, and its period would be incredibly long. A single oscillation would take an almost unimaginably long time. But time itself would continue to pass as it always does. Even if the universe-sized wave makes practically no detectable oscillation during human timescales, time itself still flows and is measurable through other processes (like nuclear decay, stellar evolution, or atomic vibrations).

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Electromagnetic energy decreases as if it were dispersed over the area on an expanding sphere, expressed as 4pR2 where radius R is the distance the energy has travelled. The amount of energy received at a point on that sphere diminishes as 1/R2.

https://science.nasa.gov/learn/basics-of-space-flight/chapter6-1

Chapter 6: Electromagnetics - NASA Science

 
Calculations to Establish How Far Visible Light Travels before Dropping Out of Sight


Redshift is Attenuation
Over extreme distances, light attenuates according to the following equation c = ℷf

where c = speed of light; ℷ = wavelength of light; and f = frequency of light wave.

What c = ℷf tells us is that as the frequency of light drops over extreme distances, its wavelength correspondingly increases. For over a century, astrophysicists have paid more attention to wavelength than to frequency of redshifted light.

The farther light travels, the greater the degree to which its frequency slowly diminishes. We observe this phenomenon as a redshift, i.e., the tendency of visible light to drop toward the red end of the spectrum. The farther away a galaxy is, the more its light shifts toward the red end of the spectrum.
 
https://www.ospublishers.com/Calculations-to-Establish-How-Far-Visible-Light-Travels-before-Dropping-Out-of-Sight.html

Calculations to Establish How Far Visible Light Travels before Dropping Out of Sight

 
 
 
 
Is Time an Abstract Entity?
Jan Faye

https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110333213.85/html?lang=en

Is Time an Abstract Entity?