The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time

NOVA brings you stories from the frontlines of science and engineering, answering the big questions of today and tomorrow, from how our ancestors lived, to whether parallel universes exist, to how technology will transform our lives. Visit the official website to watch full-length documentaries, or explore our world through short-form video, on our digital publication NOVA Next.

Season 38 Episode 17 | 53m 40s | CC

Time. We waste it, save it, kill it, make it. The world runs on it. Yet ask physicists what time actually is, and the answer might shock you: They have no idea. Even more surprising, the deep sense we have of time passing from present to past may be nothing more than an illusion. How can our understanding of something so familiar be so wrong?

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Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS viewers. Original funding provided by the David H. Koch Fund for Science, HHMI, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science/Fermilab, George D. Smith, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS Stations.

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