The concept of time freezing appears frequently in films. However, the scientific perspective on time freezing is not as romantic as it is portrayed in movies.
If you ever feel like there isn’t enough time in a day, have you wondered what it would be like if you had the power of Dr. Strange to freeze time?
In science fiction films, when a person freezes time, it’s depicted as that person continuing their activities while everyone else stands still.
Freezing time is a recurring concept in films.
But according to scientific laws, freezing time isn’t as romantic as it sounds.
To answer the question above, you need to understand what time really is.
It could be the hands moving on a clock, the numbers displayed on your phone, or the way the sun rises and sets and your birthday is celebrated every year. These are all familiar aspects when people think of time.
However, in scientific terms, time is the progression of events from the past to the present and into the future. Physicists can define time in more complex ways, but ultimately, it’s just a system of measurement.
According to the formula for calculating speed, speed equals distance divided by time. Therefore, if time freezes, the time variable becomes 0. You cannot divide a number by 0.
Thus, without time, there would be no distance and no speed. In other words, if time stopped, nothing could move.
This means there would be no light because photons, the basic units of light and the fastest particles in the universe, could not move. If photons don’t travel into your eyes, you won’t be able to see anything.
Air would also be unable to move, which means humans would not be able to breathe. Blood would no longer require oxygen since it wouldn’t circulate anymore. With the freezing of molecules, temperature would cease to exist, leading to extremely cold conditions.
Therefore, without time, humans would suffocate, go blind, and freeze.
Meanwhile, outside Earth, the fundamental forces of the universe would also come to a halt. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, space and time are interconnected through the formula E=mc^2.
Thus, without time, space cannot exist. If time stops, it means everything humans know would also stop. There would be no universe and nothing at all.
The original concept of time freezing in a science fiction movie could only occur if it adhered to the laws of physics.
“Freezing time” through the illusion of chronostasis
If we detach the issue from the realm of physics, time is not just what we read on a clock. It is also the feeling we experience in our minds and bodies. It is a natural rhythm of the world. Time can sometimes feel like it’s moving quickly, while at other times it can feel like it’s dragging on.
Craig Callender states that each person’s subjective impression of time will lead the question, “Can time stop?” in an interestingly different direction.
There is a famous psychological illusion known as “chronostasis.” You can perform an experiment to experience the sensation of chronostasis. Place a clock at the edge of your vision, then stare at something else for a moment. When you glance back at the clock and focus on the second hand, you will see the second hand appear to be motionless, as if time has just stopped.
This illusion occurs in relation to an eye movement called saccades. When your eyeballs rapidly flick back and forth to continuously process images from your surroundings, to prevent you from seeing a blur, your brain automatically corrects what it sees in real-time, creating the impression of a continuous field of vision.
“If we are only discussing our subjective experience of time, then we can ‘freeze’ it for a moment by creating the illusion of chronostasis for ourselves. This is the closest humans can get to freezing time right now,” Callender said.
