Time Measures Space's Change-Transformation-Refresh. | How to Understand the Time's Concept, Definition, and Meaning ?
How to Define the Direction of Time Using Entropy Increase?
How to Understand Time Dilation and Length Contraction in Special Relativity, and Gravitational Time Dilation and Gravitational Redshift in General Relativity?
Time and space have always been among the most intriguing topics in physics. In this framework, time is defined as the number of transformations that occur in the universe or within a specific local space. Meanwhile, spatial changes are measured through the number of fundamental units that make up space, called Space Elementary Quanta (SEQ). This perspective offers a fresh way to understand how time and space are deeply connected.
Time is not just a simple flow from past to future. Instead, it emerges from a series of irreversible transformations within the structure of space itself. Each transformation brings about a change in the state of space, and with it, a new moment in time. These changes are linked to entropy — the measure of disorder in a system. As entropy increases, time moves forward, giving time its direction.
This view of time aligns with the second law of thermodynamics and helps explain why time seems to only go one way. It also integrates well with modern theories like general relativity and quantum field theory, suggesting a deeper unity in the laws of physics.
In this model, time and space are not separate entities but are unified through the evolution of space network. For example, after a certain number of transformations, a gravitational wave can only travel through a limited number of SEQ. This shows how the passage of time and the movement through space are two sides of the same coin.
Length, in this context, is simply the count of adjacent SEQs, and energy is a multiple of the smallest possible energy unit. This suggests that both space and time may be discrete — made up of tiny, indivisible units — rather than continuous as we usually experience them.
The direction of time, or time's arrow, is a fundamental characteristic of our universe. In this framework, multiplicative entropy plays a key role in defining the direction of time. It is based on the cumulative multiplication of energy across Space Elementary Quanta (SEQ) network in a closed or locally closed system. As these fundamental units undergo transformations, the total multiplicative entropy increases, marking the forward flow of time.
This increase in entropy reflects the natural tendency of energy to spread out and become more evenly distributed. Unlike traditional entropy, which only captures overall state differences, multiplicative entropy records every step of this process, preserving the details of how energy evolves over time. This allows for a more precise understanding of time's direction and the cause-and-effect relationships in physical systems.
As energy becomes more uniform, time moves forward in a clear and irreversible way. This model not only supports the second law of thermodynamics but also connects deeply with the principles of action and entropy maximization. Together, these ideas help explain how time's arrow emerges from the most fundamental level of space and energy, providing a unified view of time, causality, and the structure of the universe.
Einstein’s theory of relativity tells us that time can slow down or speed up depending on motion and gravity. In this model, such effects arise naturally from differences in how often transformations occur in different parts of space. Two clocks in different environments may tick at different rates because the underlying space they are measuring undergoes different numbers of transformations.
The relationship between space deformation and SEQ resonance frequency provides a detailed mechanism for understanding how gravitational fields influence the flow of time, aligning with the predictions of General Relativity and offering a new perspective on the nature of spacetime and gravity
This also means that time is not absolute. Some regions of space may remain unchanged while others evolve, even as the universe as a whole continues to transform.
A key idea here is that space-time is not smooth but made up of tiny building blocks. Because these building blocks are discrete, movement and change happen in steps rather than flowing continuously. This leads to quantum effects like wave-particle duality, where particles behave both as points and as waves. In this model, the wave-like behavior is more fundamental, and the appearance of particles comes from the way space itself is structured.
The full text of Preprint of this model: Zou, Z. K. (2025). Multiplicative Entropy Encodes Time-Causality; Gauge Mediates Mass-Gravity; Frequency Mirrors Metric-Geometry. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15278220