A new theory by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist Gunther Kletetschka argues that time comes in three dimensions rather than just the single one we experience as continual forward progression, and space emerges as a secondary manifestation.
Time, not space plus time, might be the single fundamental property in which all physical phenomena occur. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“These three time dimensions are the primary fabric of everything, like the canvas of a painting,” Dr. Kletetschka said.
“Space still exists with its three dimensions, but it’s more like the paint on the canvas rather than the canvas itself.”
“These thoughts are a marked difference from generally accepted physics, which holds that a single dimension of time plus the three dimensions of space constitute reality.”
“This is known as spacetime, the concept developed more than a century ago that views time and space as one entity.”
Dr. Kletetschka’s mathematical formula of six total dimensions — of time and space combined — could bring scientists closer to finding the single unifying explanation of the Universe.
Dimensions of time beyond our everyday forward progression are difficult to grasp. Theoretical physicists have proposed many variations.
The new work adds to a long-running body of research by theoretical physicists on a subject outside of mainstream physics.
“Earlier 3D time proposals were primarily mathematical constructs without these concrete experimental connections,” Dr. Kletetschka said.
“My work transforms the concept from an interesting mathematical possibility into a physically testable theory with multiple independent verification channels.”
“The theory could be used to predict currently unknown particle properties and aid in pursuing the origin of mass — and, ultimately, helping solve one of the biggest questions in physics.”
Three-dimensional time is a theory in which time, like space, has multiple independent directions — typically imagined as three axes of time motion, similar in concept to the spatial X, Y and Z axes.
Imagine you are walking down a straight path, moving forward and therefore experiencing time as we know it. Now imagine another path that crosses the first one, going sideways.
If you could step onto that sideways path and remain in the same moment of regular time, you might find that things could be slightly different — perhaps a different version of the same day.
Moving along this perpendicular second path could let you explore different outcomes of that day without going backward or forward in time as we know it.
The existence of those different outcomes is the second dimension of time. The means to transition from one outcome to another is the third dimension.
“This theory overcomes some of the problems with earlier three-dimensional time theories that are based on traditional physics,” Dr. Kletetschka said.
“Those earlier theories, for example, describe multiple time dimensions in which cause-and-effect relationships are potentially ambiguous.”
“The new theory ensures that causes still precede effects, even with multiple time dimensions, just in a more complex mathematical structure.”
In three-dimensional time, the second and third dimensions are thought by some researchers, notably theoretical physicist Itzhak Bars of the University of Southern California, to become apparent, or unfold, at levels of extreme energy such as during the early Universe or in high-energy particle interactions.
The new approach might even help resolve the grandest of all unresolved physics challenges: unifying quantum mechanics — the behavior of particles at the smallest scales — and gravity into a single quantum theory of gravity.
A quantum theory of gravity could lead to, or become, a grand theory of the Universe — the so-called theory of everything.
The elusive unifying theory would unite the four fundamental forces of nature — electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force and gravity.
The Standard Model of particle physics unites the first three. Gravity is explained through Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
The two are incompatible, so physicists have been searching for that theory of everything to unite them. Finding the origin of particle masses is central in that pursuit.
Dr. Kletetschka believes his theory of three-dimensional time can help.
The framework accurately reproduces the known masses of particles such as electrons, muons and quarks and also explains why these particles have these masses.
“The path to unification might require fundamentally reconsidering the nature of physical reality itself,” Dr. Kletetschka said.
“This theory demonstrates how viewing time as three-dimensional can naturally resolve multiple physics puzzles through a single coherent mathematical framework.”
His paper was published in the journal Reports in Advances of Physical Science.
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Gunther Kletetschka. 2025. Three-Dimensional Time: A Mathematical Framework for Fundamental Physics. Reports in Advances of Physical Sciences 9: 2550004; doi: 10.1142/S2424942425500045
