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Time Dimension To Become Space-like

KentuckyFC writes "The Universe is about to flip from having three dimensions of space and one of time to having four dimensions of space. That's the conclusion of a group of Spanish astrophysicists who have calculated that observers inside such a Universe would see it expanding and accelerating away from them just before the flip (abstract, full paper pdf on the physics arXiv). 'We show that regular changes of signature on brane-worlds in AdS bulks may account for some types of the recently fashionable sudden singularities. Therefore, the fact that the Universe seems to approach a future sudden singularity at an accelerated rate of expansion might simply be an indication that our braneworld is about to change from Lorentzian to Euclidean signature. Both the brane and the bulk remain fully regular everywhere.'" Update: 10/09 16:06 GMT by Z : A few readers have written in to point out that the article is not peer-reviewed; your mileage may vary.

49 of 587 comments (clear)

  1. Mayan Calender by andyh3930 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So that's whats going to happen when the Mayan calender rolls over in 2012.

    1. Re:Mayan Calender by dark404 · · Score: 5, Funny

      There will be a patch to update the calendar software to granite instead of sand stone, this will push the calendar into 4096.

    2. Re:Mayan Calender by xanadu113 · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, that's just the Mayan Y2.012K bug...

      --
      -Myke
    3. Re:Mayan Calender by DeepZenPill · · Score: 2, Funny

      No no no, you have it all wrong. It goes like this:

      Time 0: Universe has time and is normal.
      Time 1: Universe suddenly flips and now has 0 time, 4 space.
      Time ??: ????
      Time 42: Profit!

    4. Re:Mayan Calender by fractoid · · Score: 2, Funny

      Soggy? His Noodly Appendage Shall Not be Overcooked!

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  2. Ode to the new way by fyngyrz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh, I'm living in a tesseract,
    a four dimensional box.
    It's bigger on the inside,
    what why my four-space rocks!
    When you get on the inside,
    the outside becomes the in,
    Dimensionally speaking,
    it's all about the spin.

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  3. E=MC^2 by jshriverWVU · · Score: 3, Funny

    If only Einstein was around to see it :)

    1. Re:E=MC^2 by mikael · · Score: 4, Funny

      He's spinning in his grave - in a quantum mechanical way of course.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    2. Re:E=MC^2 by bar-agent · · Score: 4, Funny

      He's spinning in his grave - in a quantum mechanical way of course.

      Would that be spin-up or spin-down?

      --
      i'd hit it so hard, if you pulled me out you'd be the king of britain [bash.org]
    3. Re:E=MC^2 by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Would that be spin-up or spin-down? Both, obviously. I find that strangely charming.
      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  4. My advice by Weaselmancer · · Score: 3, Funny

    Avoid poetry, coastal cities, and the Catskill mountains. Seriously.

    --
    Weaselmancer
    rediculous.
  5. I wasn't expecting that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nobody Expects the Spanish Astrophysicists! In fact, our two main weapons are theory and telescopes, theory and telescopes, and an insane amount of genius, wait that's three, our three main weapons are...

  6. TFA by HalifaxRage · · Score: 1, Funny

    TFA can be found at our new domain, timecube.asia

    --
    bomb the us up set someone
  7. Plagarism! by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 3, Funny

    I first read this theory in Oolong Caloophid's seminal work: "Where God Went Wrong."

    More of this is elaborated in his development of these themes: "Some More of God's Greatest Mistakes," and "Who Is This God Person Anyway?".

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
  8. This can mean but one thing by Arthur+B. · · Score: 3, Funny

    Jeebus will return ! Clean your browsing history and cache.

    --
    \u262D = \u5350
  9. Re:Another dimension? by weirdcrashingnoises · · Score: 2, Funny

    No, but your slashdot ID# should cease to matter.

    and there was much rejoicing.

    (holy crap we have close #'s too)

    --
    sigs... don't talk to me about sigs....
  10. Re:So. . . . by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Oh, that was easy," says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
  11. the intersection of mathematics and cosmology by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Funny

    where the theories and calculations of the brightest brains in the room become indistinguishable from the random brainfarts of two stoners sitting on a smelly couch in a dorm room at 4:20 AM

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  12. Re:Not just what, but when? by Basehart · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm guessing some time in the future.

  13. great by nomadic · · Score: 2, Funny

    I really hope I'm not in the DMV when time ends.

  14. Re:Not just what, but when? by timster · · Score: 4, Funny

    Silly... obviously the question is NOT "When will this happen?" Without time there is no "when", and no "happen", and no "will". Only "this".

    Should this research be correct, the only question left will be: "This?" Now and always and forever, this?

    --
    I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
  15. Peer review by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    The peers are going to review this a few centimeters from now; give them time.

    1. Re:Peer review by eclectro · · Score: 2, Funny

      You don't need peer review if you have enough branes.

      --
      Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
  16. Re:Not just what, but when? by ArieKremen · · Score: 4, Funny

    The real question is not "when is this expected to happen?", but where? I think it already happened on the NJ turnpike a long time ago

    --
    -- Cave quid dicis, quando, et cui
  17. Re:Not just what, but when? by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm guessing some time in the future.
    You missed the whole point. Some place in the future.
    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  18. All you D & D players by Ilan+Volow · · Score: 2, Funny

    Get that last game in before your game stops working with your newly created 144-sided dice.

    --
    Ergonomica Auctorita Illico!
  19. Lorentzian to Euclidian transformations... by jnaujok · · Score: 3, Funny

    All this talk about time becoming a spatial dimension and realities collapsing is making my brane hurt.

    Yeah, I said it.

    --
    Life, the Universe, and Everything... in my image.
  20. Mileage? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Update: 10/09 16:06 GMT by Z : A few readers have written in to point out that the article is not peer-reviewed; your mileage may vary. So may your yearage, presumably.
    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  21. It is almost physically painful to see by Nephrite · · Score: 2, Funny

    slashdotters comment on science topics. Top comments are always "Funny" because no one really understands what it's all about and so everybody just makes stupid jokes instead.

  22. Re:But what does that mean? by planckscale · · Score: 2, Funny
    Well lets hope that when I abruptly stop that I am frozen in front of my laptop reading Slashdot. That way I can ruminate on the comment "I really hope I'm not in the DMV when time ends." for eons.

    --
    Namaste
  23. Re:Not just what, but when? by prat393 · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's not the future anymore. It's just "that way". *Points*

  24. Re:Not just what, but when? by Dr.+Eggman · · Score: 5, Funny

    In the future, time will become very confusing...

    Dark Helmet: What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie?
    Sandurz: Now, you're looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now is happening now.
    Dark Helmet: What happend to then?
    Sandurz: We passed then.
    Dark Helmet: When?
    Sandurz: Just now. Were at now, now.
    Dark Helmet: Go back to then!
    Sandurz: When?
    Dark Helmet: Now.
    Sandurz: Now?
    Dark Helmet: Now!
    Sandurz: I can't.
    Dark Helmet: Why?
    Sandurz: We missed it.
    Dark Helmet: When?
    Sandurz: Just now.
    Dark Helmet: When will then be now?
    Sandurz: Soon.
    Dark Helmet: How soon?

    --
    Demented But Determined.
  25. Re:Not just what, but when? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    So you're saying the universe will become a Fark thread?

  26. ow ow my brane hurts! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ..maybe if I wait a few feet it'll feel better

  27. Assumptions by camperdave · · Score: 5, Funny

    Change requires time. It's a logical paradox.

    You're assuming that there is only one time dimension. But actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    1. Re:Assumptions by flyingsquid · · Score: 5, Funny

      All I know is, my boss has now declared that our fifteen-minute breaks are to be replaced by 15-centimeter breaks. Asshole.

    2. Re:Assumptions by dpiven · · Score: 3, Funny

      Easy. Time is what keeps everything from happening at once, and space is what keeps everything from happening to you.

    3. Re:Assumptions by genner · · Score: 2, Funny

      I knew you where going to say that......so it begins.

  28. Re:M-Theory is bad science by fyngyrz · · Score: 4, Funny

    M-Theory was the brain child of a bunch of mathematicians

    M-Theory was the brane child of a bunch of mathematicians

    [tips hat]

    --
    I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  29. Well, I for one welcomed our five dimentional by crovira · · Score: 5, Funny

    overlords.

    Breaking "time's arrow" will really fuck with our verb tenses.

    But I worried about that tomorrow...

    --
    MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
  30. Y 2 K been berry good to me.. by bdwoolman · · Score: 2, Funny
    I called it Y 2 K Y Jelly.

    And more on topic, Can I say that the arrow of time is an illusion?

    Be here now.

    --
    "No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
    1. Re:Y 2 K been berry good to me.. by blahlemon · · Score: 2, Funny

      The arrow of lunch time, doubly so.

      --
      It take more faith to believe in evolution than it takes to believe in God
  31. Re:Time speeding up by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Okay, that's my rant. You can slap the straitjacket on me now and ship me off to the funny farm.
    Or give you a Phd in theoretical physics. It's all good.
    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
  32. Re:Eternal Life by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 4, Funny

    That means no movement and no thought.

    Don't look now, but it's already happened in Washington, D.C.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  33. Re:Time speeding up by phoenixwade · · Score: 2, Funny

    Okay, that's my rant. You can slap the straitjacket on me now and ship me off to the funny farm.
    Or give you a Phd in theoretical physics. It's all good. IS there a difference?
    --
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
  34. Re:Time speeding up by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 3, Funny

    IS there a difference?
    It's possible to actually get certified as sane if you're sent to the funny farm.
    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
  35. Thank you, Doctor by Prototerm · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't blink, don't turn away, don't close your eyes, and whatever you do, don't blink!

    (for those of you who didn't recognize the Doctor Who quote in the parent, turn in your geek badge!)

    --
    "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." --Senator Carl Schurz (1872)
  36. Re:Time speeding up by russ1337 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Our observed universe is self-contained within the event horizon of a giant black hole.
    dude, you just totally changed the way I see the universe. I swear I almost blacked out for a second...
  37. Quack alert! by Fujisawa+Sensei · · Score: 2, Funny

    You still haven't produced the code for COSA, its been more than a month. Do you have it?

    A time dimension is crackpottery.

    I suggest you read Relativity by Albert Einstein. He explains Special Relativity in simple mathematics that even somebody who has taken Algebra in US public school system can understand.

    Read Nasty Little Truth About Spacetime Physics and get the facts.

    I will refer you to the following questionnaire: Are you a quack?

    --
    If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.