What Happens If New Physics Theory Rules That Time Does Not Exist?

Future developments in the field of physics may lead to time itself being regarded as non-existent, at least in the context of some theories, says Sam Baron, associate professor in philosophy at the Australian Catholic University.

While declaring time to be non-existent "would seem to bring the entire world to a grinding halt" Baron claimed that causation could provide "a way out of the mess"

According to Baron, physics is in crisis, and physicists are looking for a substitute for general relativity and quantum mechanics, which, although "work extremely well in their own right" are also "thought to conflict with one another"

He observes that "a number of other approaches also seem to remove time as a fundamental aspect of reality," including the so-called loop quantum gravity theory, which aims to substitute general relativity and quantum mechanics "while capturing the extraordinary success of both."

So, what happens if a new physics theory that ignores time turns out ...