Does the Past Still Exist?

Does the past still exist? Not as a memory, not as a photograph, but as a place — as real as the room you are lying in right now. Tonight we follow that question slowly, from the starlight arriving at your eyes to the strange geometry of spacetime itself, and we find that our best-tested physics has something quietly astonishing to say about it. Settle in, let your shoulders drop, and let the question rest with you in the dark. SOURCES & FURTHER READING Albert Einstein, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, 1905, Annalen der Physik Albert Einstein, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory, 1920, Methuen Ole Roemer, Demonstration concerning the motion of light, 1676, Journal des Scavans Laurence Bobis and James Lequeux, Cassini, Roemer and the velocity of light, 2008, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage Christiaan Huygens, Treatise on Light, 1690 Hippolyte Fizeau, On an experiment relating to the speed of propagation of light, 1849, Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences Leon Foucault, Experimental determination of the speed of light, 1862, Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, The International System of Units, ninth edition, 2019 Isaac Newton, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, 1687 Hermann Minkowski, Space and Time, address delivered 1908, published 1909, Physikalische Zeitschrift Edwin F. Taylor and John Archibald Wheeler, Spacetime Physics, second edition, 1992, W. H. Freeman J. C. Hafele and Richard E. Keating, Around-the-World Atomic Clocks: Predicted Relativistic Time Gains, 1972, Science J. C. Hafele and Richard E. Keating, Around-the-World Atomic Clocks: Observed Relativistic Time Gains, 1972, Science Bruno Rossi and David B. Hall, Variation of the Rate of Decay of Mesotrons with Momentum, 1941, Physical Review David H. Frisch and James H. Smith, Measurement of the Relativistic Time Dilation Using Mu-Mesons, 1963, American Journal of Physics C. W. Chou, D. B. Hume, T. Rosenband and D. J. Wineland, Optical Clocks and Relativity, 2010, Science Neil Ashby, Relativity in the Global Positioning System, 2003, Living Reviews in Relativity C. W. Rietdijk, A Rigorous Proof of Determinism Derived from the Special Theory of Relativity, 1966, Philosophy of Science Hilary Putnam, Time and Physical Geometry, 1967, The Journal of Philosophy Howard Stein, On Einstein-Minkowski Space-Time, 1968, The Journal of Philosophy Kurt Goedel, An Example of a New Type of Cosmological Solutions of Einstein's Field Equations of Gravitation, 1949, Reviews of Modern Physics Kurt Goedel, A Remark About the Relationship Between Relativity Theory and Idealistic Philosophy, 1949, in Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist, Library of Living Philosophers Albert Einstein, letter of condolence to the family of Michele Besso, 1955, Einstein Archives, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Huw Price, Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point, 1996, Oxford University Press David Z. Albert, Time and Chance, 2000, Harvard University Press Sean Carroll, From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time, 2010, Dutton Carlo Rovelli, The Order of Time, 2018, Riverhead Books Dean Zimmerman, The Privileged Present: Defending an A-Theory of Time, 2008, in Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics, Blackwell Michael Tooley, Time, Tense, and Causation, 1997, Oxford University Press Ned Markosian, Time, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Planck Collaboration, Planck 2018 results, overview and the cosmological legacy of Planck, 2020, Astronomy and Astrophysics NASA Cosmic Background Explorer team, standard references on the cosmic microwave background rest frame Dava Sobel, Longitude, 1995, Walker and Company Galileo Galilei, Sidereus Nuncius, 1610 Rene Descartes, correspondence with Isaac Beeckman, 1634, and Principles of Philosophy, 1644 Julian Barbour, The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics, 1999, Oxford University Press G. S. Kirk, J. E. Raven and M. Schofield, The Presocratic Philosophers, second edition, 1983, Cambridge University Press Aristotle, Physics, Book Six Walter Isaacson, Einstein: His Life and Universe, 2007, Simon and Schuster Abraham Pais, Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein, 1982, Oxford University Press Leo Corry, Hermann Minkowski and the Postulate of Relativity, 1997, Archive for History of Exact Sciences All claims in this video are drawn from established, peer-reviewed, or primary scientific sources, listed above. The soundtrack of Cylinder Five by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/