Abstract: This chapter examines the possibility of discrete time. At first sight, the answer seems trivial, but actually, it raises a number of interesting questions, both philosophical and scientific. First, the chapter explains what interpretations of discrete time are not considered. Then, it addresses two key philosophical problems: if there are such things as chronons, smallest “bits” of time, do they have extensions and can a distance function, that is, a duration, be defined on them? Second, the chapter discusses the relation between discrete time and discrete space, showing that the former implies the latter. Thus, with applications in mind, both time and space are to be seen as discrete. This leads, third, to the hardest problem of all: whether discrete time is applicable in physical theories.
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-09-02
Language: en
Type: book
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 8
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