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Is there a possibility the space and the time are not continuous, but rather, quantified (only some positions in the space exist, and some instants in the arrow of time) ?

Hopes my question is clear.

Hey StackExchange
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    Your first question looks like a duplicate of Is spacetime discrete or continuous?. We prefer one question per post but in any case I'm sure the second question is a duplicate as well, though I can't put my finger on the duplicate just now. – John Rennie Sep 21 '15 at 07:09
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    The second question is a duplicate of Is there anything physically infinite?, though the view of that seems to be that it's a pointless question. – John Rennie Sep 21 '15 at 07:15
  • 2.1 is combined to 2.2. 2.1 serve to illustrate where I want to go with 2.2. – Hey StackExchange Sep 21 '15 at 07:40
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    The point is that agonising about the role of infinity in physics makes absolutely no contribution to the everyday job of physicists i.e. developing mathematical models to predict observations. While these sorts of speculations are certainly fun to discuss in the bar late at night, they are irrelevant to our day jobs. They also tend to be greeted with a degree of impatience born from listening to the same old arguments for several decades. Hence the poor response to this question. – John Rennie Sep 21 '15 at 08:07
  • @JohnRennie: My questions are as a whole: what if the space and the time are not continuous. I guess it will revisit the notion of infinite. – Hey StackExchange Sep 21 '15 at 08:13
  • @CuriousOne: Well, I don't feel you are contributing positively? Why waste your time? I gave you 2 examples where infinity lead a problem (even if not a real one), and told you that the math use the notion of infinity in physics (black hole, unified theory). An imaginary concept is use to describe a real world. Anyway. – Hey StackExchange Sep 21 '15 at 08:29
  • What examples did you give? Examples where no physicist takes infinities seriously? Examples where infinities are a safe sign that the theory is false? Wait... isn't that what I just said? :-) – CuriousOne Sep 21 '15 at 08:32

2 Answers2

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1) Yes, but nobody has figured out how to do that, yet. 2.1) Not in science. 2.2) Physics is not mathematics, it just uses mathematics as a language. 2.3) No. That would make no sense, whatsoever.

CuriousOne
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  • But math is used to describe physics, and infinity is found but called singularity. A consequence of the math language to describe the physics. – Hey StackExchange Sep 21 '15 at 07:00
  • Singularities have not actually been seen "live". Its just easier to describe some things that way. For example: We dont know if there actually is an singulariy inside a black hole, but the math works so why not? – Jakob Sep 21 '15 at 07:42
  • @HeyStackExchange: A singularity is a failure of the math that is being used to describe physics. It has not much to do with physics, which is the description of reality and there are no singularities in reality. – CuriousOne Sep 21 '15 at 07:47
  • My point is that we are stuck when the math talk to the physics world identifying a singularity. My point is: infinity is a math concept. It doesn't describe the real world. But when we face it (black hole singularity, integrating quantics physics into relativity -result of a sum of infinite, etc.), we say: there is a problem. My point is: isn't the problem the concept of infinity that the math is carrying? – Hey StackExchange Sep 21 '15 at 07:53
  • @HeyStackExchange: Why are we stuck? When the math fails we modify the math. That has led to some of the most important discoveries in physics, e.g. quantum mechanics. Classical mechanics and electrodynamics broke down (the latter with singularities), so they had to invent new math that didn't have that problem. Now we have problems with quantum field theory and there are a few very interesting suggestions on how one can reformulate quantum field theory to not have its pesky infinity problems. – CuriousOne Sep 21 '15 at 07:58
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    That's the point @CuriousOne: Why do we carry in physics the notion of infinity then? Another question (but in fact related) is: as much as there are quanta of energy, we may live in a discontinuous world where the space itself and the time itself are quantified (meaning the time is a grid as much as the space, and not continuous). If that make sense, I guess it will impact the notion of infinity. – Hey StackExchange Sep 21 '15 at 08:05
  • @HeyStackExchange: We don't carry the notion of infinity. Where did you read that we do? :-) How would the quantization of spacetime impact something that doesn't exist? :-) – CuriousOne Sep 21 '15 at 08:14
  • @CuriousOne: read the other thread as you replied to both. thanks – Hey StackExchange Sep 21 '15 at 08:30
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  1. Quanta refers to light.

2.1 Many things are infinite, including decimal numbers between any two consecutive whole numbers such as 1 and 2. Such as: 1.1, 1.11, 1.111, 1.52437' an infinite amount of combinations is possible. There are many more infinities.

2.2 If not? See answer for 2.1.. Do not repeat reading in an infinite loop.

2.3 No.

Jordin.ca
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  • I meant quanta of energy (electron): a finite amount of energy.. But here, not of energy, but space and time. 2. I meant infinity is our world.
    • – Hey StackExchange Sep 21 '15 at 06:55