Time is a mindboggling paradox. It goes both fast and slow, into the past and into the future. It transpires differently in our memories. It changes when we move to a higher or lower altitude. The faster we move in space, the more it slows down. It is elusive, but it is always there, at the centre of our lives, as we march to its tick-tock beat to the next moment, and the next, and the next…
Click start to play today’s Word Search and find all the time-related words.
There are many things about the concept of time that are astounding.
For instance, in terms of physics, there is no such thing as “now.” Time and space are fluid, constantly affected by our speed and the gravitational force we are subjected to at any particular moment. So, physicists do not think of time as something that passes or flows, or as a sequence of events. Rather, the past and the future merely exist, laid out as part of space-time. German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein explained it as such: "For us physicists, the distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion, however persistent."
This is true even when you step outside and feel the sun on your face. The sun is not shining right "now." Because light takes time to reach us on Earth as it travels at a speed of 299,792km/s, all that we see is actually in the past. The sunlight you feel on your face right now is eight minutes and 30 seconds old.
Since we’re talking about the past, think back to your childhood. Did you feel like your childhood would never end, and you had all the time in the world? There is a reason for that.
Scientists refer to it as the oddball effect. The concept of time actually lengthens in our minds when we are experiencing new things and enjoying ourselves, and the opposite happens when we are stressed. So, since children learn new things all the time and experience a great deal of personal growth, time expands for them in their minds. For adults however, life is often stressful and tedious, and they constantly feel rushed off their feet.
When was the last time you felt like time was getting away from you? Play today’s Word Search and tell us at games@gulfnews.com.
