The Contraction of Time: How Space Travel Affects Aging and Life Span

The concept of time often remains shrouded in ambiguity and confusion. To clarify, we can use two distinct terms: ldquo;agingrdquo; and ldquo;future displacement.rdquo; These terms provide a clearer understanding of the nuances involved in how time impacts our lives.

Aging vs. Future Displacement

Aging refers to the time experienced on the way to the future, often called ldquo;proper time.rdquo; This is what all accurate clocks, including atomic and biological clocks, measure. Instead of using the term ldquo;time dilation,rdquo; we can use ldquo;aging contractionrdquo; to draw an analogy to ldquo;length contractionrdquo; as demanded by Einstein's second postulate, where invariant c: n x / t c c x / t.

In this context, aging is relative to one's frame of reference. On the other hand, future displacement denotes the relentless change in the cosmos, observed as increasing size, increasing entropy, and decreasing background temperature. This is the aging of the cosmos. Because the cosmos cannot move within itself, its isotropic frame serves as a unique and universally accessible reference. Nothing ages faster than the cosmos itself.

The Invariance of Future Displacement

While both aging and future displacement are often expressed in temporal units, such as seconds, the difference between them becomes evident in specific scenarios:

Example a: Light does not age; it ages to zero. However, the absorption of light always occurs in the future relative to its emission. Example b: In the twin paradox, the twins reunite with an agreed future displacement, but the round-trip twin ages less due to time dilation. Example c: The Big Bang will precede every other event in every reference frame. Nothing in the universe is older than the universe itself, not due to time dilation, but due to gravitational distortion.

Gravitational Distortion and Time Dilation

When traveling through a gravitational field different from that experienced on Earth, or through a distorted gravitational field, the space between the particles of our bodies gets compressed. With less room, particles vibrate less and move less. This phenomenon is known as time dilation, where we not only age more slowly but also perceive and sense time differently compared to individuals not in the same gravitational field or not moving at the same speed.

In summary, the concepts of aging and future displacement offer a clearer understanding of the complexities of time. Understanding these nuances can provide deep insights into how space travel, gravitational distortion, and entropy impact the aging process and, ultimately, life span.