PhilSci Archive

From nothingness to time, Planck's constant, and endless accretion

van Hateren, J. H. (2026) From nothingness to time, Planck's constant, and endless accretion. [Preprint]

[img] Text
nothtime.pdf - Draft Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (1MB)

Abstract

This article presents a theory of fundamental physics that quantifies a growing network of elements and links. The first two linked elements in existence arise irreversibly from nothingness. The network subsequently keeps growing by one element at a time. It has no free parameters and only one global parameter, the total number of elements N. The network statistics produce energy conservation when each link corresponds to a quantum of action. For large N, the statistics produce an internally observable three-dimensional space. Together with N, space forms a spacetime with a time dimension that follows the same statistics as each spatial dimension. Consequently, spacetime has a maximum internal speed, time reversibility, translation invariance, and it agrees with special relativity. Dense clusters of elements and links form particles, curving spacetime as in general relativity. In spacetime, particles can move and can appear as multiple instances. Observation of particles follows the rules of quantum physics, and the network agrees with the Feynman path integral.


Export/Citation: EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL
Social Networking:
Share |

Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
van Hateren, J. H.j.h.van.hateren@rug.nl0000-0002-4235-4734
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Specific Sciences > Physics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Depositing User: Dr. J. H. van Hateren
Date Deposited: 20 Apr 2026 12:58
Last Modified: 20 Apr 2026 12:58
Item ID: 29265
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Specific Sciences > Physics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Date: 20 April 2026
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29265

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item