New theory proposes time has three dimensions, with space as a secondary effect

[erronis]

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-theory-dimensions-space-secondary-effect.html
Rod Boyce, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Time, not space plus time, might be the single fundamental property in which all physical phenomena occur, according to a new theory by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist.

The theory also argues that time comes in three dimensions rather than just the single one we experience as continual forward progression. Space emerges as a secondary manifestation.

"These three time dimensions are the primary fabric of everything, like the canvas of a painting," said associate research professor Gunther Kletetschka at the UAF Geophysical Institute. "Space still exists with its three dimensions, but it's more like the paint on the canvas rather than the canvas itself."

Those thoughts are a marked difference from generally accepted physics, which holds that a single dimension of time plus the three dimensions of space constitute reality. This is known as spacetime, the concept developed more than a century ago that views time and space as one entity.

. . .

In three-dimensional time, the second and third dimensions are thought by some researchers, notably theoretical physicist Itzhak Bars of the University of Southern California, to become apparent, or unfold, at levels of extreme energy such as during the early universe or in high-energy particle interactions.

Kletetschka's work was published April 21 in Reports in Advances of Physical Science.

[Ocelot II]

1. Time exists so everything doesn't happen at once.

Space exists so everything doesn’t happen to you.

[erronis]

3. So you're telling me that "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is fiction?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Everywhere_All_at_Once

(Great movie!)

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Even if time has three dimensions, I suspect it's not possible for organic matter

Last edited Sat Jun 21, 2025, 03:48 PM - Edit history (1)

to survive the transition from one dimension to the other because of the level of extreme energy required for it all to happen. Which means, that time could be a series of global events that reset the universe, possibly?

[-misanthroptimist]

4. It's a(n) hypothesis -not a theory

[hunter]

5. Sounds a lot like a theory I've been playing with for at least forty years...

... and the journalist even uses some of the same wording.

Those thoughts are a marked difference from generally accepted physics, which holds that a single dimension of time plus the three dimensions of space constitute reality.

It's possible I've even posted similar here.

I know I've annoyed a lot of people over the years with my cosmology hobby, including people who have a much deeper understanding of math and physics than I do.

Nevertheless, we don't have to actually be good at a recreation -- music, art, athletics, etc. -- to find joy in pursuing it.

[Doodley]

6. Without space, there is no time. Without time, there is no space.

[BoRaGard]

7. "Right on schedule." - Pro Fette