Imaginary time is a concept derived from quantum mechanics and is essential in connecting quantum mechanics with statistical mechanics.
Imaginary time can be difficult to visualize. If we imagine "regular time" as a horizontal line running between "past" in one direction and "future" in the other, then imaginary time would run perpendicular to this line as the imaginary numbers run perpendicular to the real numbers in the complex plane. Imaginary time is not imaginary in the sense that it is unreal or made-up — it simply runs in a direction different from the type of time we experience. In essence, imaginary time is a way of looking at the time dimension as if it were a dimension of space: you can move forward and backward along imaginary time, just like you can move right and left in space.
Read more about Imaginary Time: In Quantum Mechanics, In Cosmology
Famous quotes containing the words imaginary and/or time:
“All legendary obstacles lay between
Us, the long imaginary plain,
The monstrous ruck of mountains”
—John Montague (b. 1929)
“The American is said to become full-flavored, and in time a most all-round man, through the polish which Europe can impart.”
—M. E. W. Sherwood (1826–1903)