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Hourglass Convention « second » Figure 2 However, it so happens that the hourglass broadens above the neck. Let us gradate the sand in millimeters of time density. The higher we go, the more it broadens and the more grains of sand there are at each gradation. Time density equals the height of the hourglass! It is a sand flow rate. Time density is a relative quantity of time in accordance with the convention used. In the example of the hourglass, all densities come to pass at the same time! This is called fractal time. This notion is essential to the understanding of the universe. A fractal is a natural or mathematical object that can be divided into parts, each of which is similar to the original object, but at a different scale. Whereas it is easy to visualize a geometric fractal (see figure below), this is more delicate when it comes to time. To be exact, I could call time density discrete time — whole number of values, hence the grains of sand to represent it — ingrained in fractal time (identical reproduction of an object but with increasing or decreasing values). In fact, time is discrete within temporal fractals. I should remind you that a discrete function is opposed to a continuous function in the sense that it is not linear but is made up of different consecutive steps. To grasp this notion of density, just picture an accelerated playback of a budding flower and you will have a better idea of what it is all about. Introduction to the time phenomenon 17 Hourglass