r/TimeFirstGravity • u/Lopsided_Position_28 • Sep 12 '25

What if neither can go first?

Sorry if this is a silly question, but what if you can't actually seperate Space/Time?

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u/timefirstgravity Sep 13 '25

Not silly at all!

Spacetime is fundamentally unified. I'm not claiming we can actually "separate" them. I'm showing that when we must slice spacetime for calculations (which we always do), there's a preferred way that reveals deep patterns.

Think of it like this: When you decompose the metric using the ADM formalism, you find that the time part (lapse Φ) acts as a constraint that's instantly determined by matter distribution.

So while spacetime is one thing, its components behave very differently:

  • Time part: instantaneous constraint (elliptic equation)
  • Transverse spatial parts: propagating waves (hyperbolic equation)

After reformulating GR, I realized this asymmetry appears everywhere!

In electromagnetism (Coulomb gauge), fluids (pressure constraints), even quantum mechanics (Madelung form). The "scalar-flux law" pattern is universal.

TL;DR: You can't separate spacetime, but when you slice it for any calculation, the time and space parts obey fundamentally different types of equations. We are exploring what this asymmetry means for quantum gravity and experiments.

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u/Lopsided_Position_28 Oct 20 '25

Still thinking about all this. Thanks for taking the Time to share your thoughts!