Congratulations to Tiwa from Surbiton High School who won the Highly Commended Award for the Aged 13 category. Tiwa created a video exploring whether a deeper understanding of physics can help us solve the mystery of time. Take a look at their entry below:
Arthur Eddington’s ‘arrow of time’ theory does not tell us if time flows, passes, or has an end point. All we know for certain is that it moves in one direction. Using Einstein’s general theory of relativity, we can have a deeper understanding of what time is, and in what circumstances may it end. The general theory of relativity states that the only place where space and time could end is in a singularity such as a black hole or the Big Bang. This is where the idea of the Big Crunch was born; at the end of the universe, surely time would lose its meaning? By reading into the Big Bang theory, scientists have formulated the ‘big crunch’. They are suggesting that one day, the universe’s gravitational forces will become too intense and create a singularity. The Big Crunch is the opposite of the bang, and it represents the universe reversing its expansion and collapsing on itself. Ending time once and for all. Physics can help us to solve the mystery of time. Through understanding the importance of time in a singularity, and knowledge of the universal expansion.