Time is Gravity. A Reasoned Proof.

The Time Train: Why Gravity is Just Time Dilation in Action

Most people are taught that gravity is an invisible "pulling force" between masses—like a cosmic tractor beam. When science communicators try to explain Einstein’s alternative, they usually point to a bowling ball warping a rubber trampoline sheet. But that analogy is deeply flawed: it only shows the bending of space, and it ironically relies on Earth’s gravity pulling the ball down to make the sheet bend in the first place!

To truly understand gravity, you have to look at the clock, not just the map. Gravity isn’t a pull from space; it is the mechanical consequence of trying to ride a straight track through a warped timeline. Time, like light, wants a straight path. It resists any deflection off that path. It wants to coast along at the same speed over the same aging distance.  

To visualize how this works, we can look at the universe through a new model: The Time Train.

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Tier 1: The Local Experience (The Classroom Train)

Imagine a classroom train moving along a track at a completely unvarying, constant speed. This train represents you, me, and every mass in the universe. We have no choice in the matter—we are all barreling forward into the future at the natural speed of time. The flat table below is the natural state of time. 

As long as the track is completely flat (empty space, far from any mass), the timeline is uniform and straight. The system is in perfect balance.

But now, the train encounters a "Time Hill." This hill is a localized distortion created by a massive object, like the Earth.

The moment the train hits the base of the hill and begins to round over the arc, the new path is pulling away from natural time. Because the train car is being structurally forced by geometry to follow the curve of the hill, it is taking a longer path to cover the same distance. Time wants to maintain its original, straight-line path. 

Bent TimeLine

The higher the bend of the hill, the greater tension gets trying to accelerate it back to that straight path. The deflected path takes longer time (is slower) to cover the same distance. The arrow in tension is literally gravitational acceleration (g) at that exact point on the curve of the hill.  The tension trying to pull us down to the straight line time path. .

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Tier 2: The Cosmic Vector (The Space (time) Ship)

The hill above could be a curving path of a  "Rocket Time Ship" flying through the cosmos. 

• On a Straight Path: The forces are perfectly centered. The upward inertia force arrow below the ship and the downward inertia arrow above the ship are equal and balanced.
• Over the Time Hill: As the ship ascends the curve, a tension action takes place. The timeline warp deflects away from the flat path of time.

This structural shift alters the balance of the arrows. The top inward force arrow lengthens, dramatically amplifying the downward tension vector. Simultaneously, the bottom outward arrow disappears The line is pointing where the center of the arc is.  The arrow says "go there". An arcing path is simply slower in time than the straight path was. The rocket ship is not being pulled downward by an outside force; rather, the tension of the bend is resisting the curve through space caused by a nearby mass. The ship's timeline has been bent away from a straight path.

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Tier 3: The Macro View (Planetary Geometry) 

Two timeline travelers. One is  Mayor Kirk Crespin of Firstview, Colorado.  The other a Northern Rockhopper Penguin of Saint Paul Island. Both on straight smooth aging paths through time. 

Image by Chrome's AI

If you scale this model up to a full three-dimensional sphere like the Earth, the planet acts like a massive bubble embedded in spacetime. The blue disk below compresses both space and time against it: It is an intrusion that pushes timeline riders away from their straight path forward through aging time. 

Normal Aging Time

Earth intrudes. Their timelines are deflected and slowed down. 

Mass Intrusion.  Slowed Timelines

The gravity we feel is the tension of that deflection trying to get back to the straight path as seen below

Desired Path the Timelines Seek

Time: Time is stretched and slowed down deep inside the bubble, accelerating back to its "natural" maximum speed as you move further away into deep space.

When we stand on the surface of the Earth, we are sitting right on the contour of this massive hill. If we map out the vector arrows hovering over every person, building, and mountain on the globe, they all converge at one single, shared focal point: the exact radius intersection at the center of the planetary mass where it's center is riding on a straight time train, perpendicular to our vectors.

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Gravity Needs Motion

The most profound realization of the Time Train model is that motion/aging is mandatory. The train's speed along the track is the aging flow of time itself.

The weight we feel right now—this very second—is not because the ground is grabbing us, but because we are passengers on a time ship that cannot stop. We are relentlessly barreling forward through a timeline that the Earth has bent into an arc, and our weight is the structural tax of our tension fighting the curve.

Essentially mass (us) wants to travel at time speed. Not at compressed time speed above us. A vast area around and away from the Earth's mass is deformed spacetime. Only the center of the earth is moving on a straight path through time. In every 3D direction. You can't associate time with the 3D vectors of space.  It is a standalone dimension. We are time travelers. My examples are just about 1 or 2 timelines to easy your understanding of this.  

Note on Scale: The diagrams above are deliberately exaggerated for clarity of concept. In the actual geometry of spacetime, the timeline's parabolic curve is exceptionally gentle, spreading across a vast 38-minute baseline. If drawn perfectly to scale using the exact 9.9403-inch circle from these examples, the timeline hill would stretch out over 8.4 miles wide!

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4D

A Footrest For My Folding Lounge Chair

Footrest:  A structure to support the calves and feet of the seated occupant at a comfortable angle and height above the floor.  

Cherry Footrest

For this project my aesthetic goal was to create a solution that belongs to the lounge chair next to it. Detail continuity. It should appear as an obvious mate. As my lounge chair folds up flat for easy storing and moving, the foot rest should also ideally fold up flat.  A bonus option is that the foot rest stores under the frame of the lounge chair when not needed. It doesn't slide under the seat assemble for a quick clearing of the space in front of the chair.  The front stretcher blocks that path.  It will slide under the stretcher if folded up first though. This footrest is just a bit narrower than the outer frame of the lounge chair so it can slide underneath it without scraping against the sides. 

I had enough cherry wood to make this footrest. I also had the hardware needed for it on hand. I had canvas for a sling to support a pad.  I didn't have any material that matched or complimented the cushion on the lounge chair so I ordered a cushion online.  

To make the side parts I started with three 15 inch long strips, 3" wide,  and 1" thick. They were glued together side-by-side. Once the glue was dry I scraped off any squeeze out then ran the board through my drum sander to smooth both sides. The final panel thickness was 31/32".   A nice feature of my CNC software is that it can render how the board will look after the toolpaths are cut.  This render is how the side parts were cut out. I held the board down with clamps on the outer corners.  The opposite side of each piece needed a little more work, but I try and maximize what is done while the board is on the CNC.  

All Four Side Parts

After the toolpaths were done I took it off the CNC.  I used my bandsaw to cut through the tabs and free the boards. Next step was to use a spiral downcut flush trim bit in my trim router table to cut off what was left of the tabs.  The CNC could only round over the edges of one side of each piece.  I put a 1/4" radius roundover router bit in my clamp-on trim table to round over the other side.   It only took 3 minutes or so including time to clean up whatever cherry chips the shop vac missed while cutting.   

My trim router table.

Dowels: Three dowels were needed. The dowels have a mating taper on their ends to fit snug into the tapered mortises.  I had enough cherry, but no pieces long enough. I ripped six 1" wide strips from a 9" long board, and then took them to my router table to round over all corners.  I then joined those 9" dowels end to end using this end-to-end finger joint design.  

End A

End B

The same vectors were used for both sides. The reality of CNC work is that sometimes bits bought turn out to be something other than the diameter they claim.  Testing the fit of this joint after cutting both sides I found it looser than I expected.   My conclusion is that the bit I used was slightly larger than the 3/16" diameter it claimed to be. My experience with Onsrud brand bits is that they are the most accurate.   As such I ordered new 3/16"d upcut and downcut bits.  

For the third dowel I remembered that I had a bag of 1" cherry dowels that were 12" long. I took two and used the radial finger joint show above to glue them end-to-end. Fit was not as tight as I expected it to be using the Onsrud 3/16" spiral upcut bit.  It was tighter than the other joints I used an older bit to cut though.  After gluing the two sections together, I cut it to the needed length, then clamped it vertically on my CNC to taper then ends.  

Puzzles occasionally show up when parts assembled don't match expected action.  This showed up when I first assembled the side parts and found that the inner leg didn't rotate under the upper dowel of the outer leg.  This was not a critical failure, but became a nagging subconscious thought as I remembered checking that it would fold flat in my CNC software.   A few days later I checked the drawing to determine how long the canvas needed to be. I realized I'd misplaced the bolt holes on the outer legs. Drilling new holes where they should have been was fairly simple.  Patching the initial holes took a new CNC toolpath file and scrap of cherry to cut snug fitting plugs from. The inner frame now rotates flat within the outer frame. The dowel ends and the sockets for the dowel ends are tapered with a 3 degree tapered end mill. 

The canvas sling.  Some careful measurement suggested it needed to be 19.24" + 1.5"overlap for two rows of snaps and 3/4" wide hems on each end long, and 17.5" wide + 3/4" wide hems on each side. The snaps allow installation and removal without taking apart the frame. Nice when it may need cleaning or replacing. Two rows of snaps keep the canvas flat. With just one row the canvas ends may bend up/down when snug and try to pull the snaps apart. I laid out the canvas I had, marked and drew the rectangle needed. Trimmed a 45 degree slice off the corners so when the hem were folded over they would miter together. I marked the fold line as well as the reference lines that the canvas folds to. Using fusing tape and some straight pins I folded over the sides and used my iron to seal them down. 

Canvas with Snaps

To verify the canvas with snaps would work, I assembled the frame for a test. 

Upside down to snap the canvas ends together

Standing up the canvas loop serves to limit how far  the frame opens. The slope is intentional as it is the angle my lower legs want to be at when sitting on the lounge chair. 

Standing up. Canvas Sling.

Teak Oil Finish

8/7.  The cushion arrived after spending 20 days between my house and somewhere in China. The red fabric is darker than the cushion on the lounge chair. Pretty much what I expected. It had been vacuum packed and was a tedious challenge to get through the wraps of tape that covered  the packaging. It needed a few days to recover/expand from the vacuum process. 

In use the angle of the frame and cushion make a very comfortable footrest for use with the lounge chair.  

I'll be making one more at least to improve on a couple flaws I found in this prototype. The lower dowel is right where my feet want to plant when getting out of the chair. Model #2 will move that dowel 4" up the sides rather than at the ends. Model #2 will also rethink how the cushion attaches. This one came with elastic straps that stretch then click together.  There is no adjustment. They want to collapse the frame unless the weight of my legs are on top of it. For now I've hidden a "push" bar in the middle under the canvas to keep the canvas tight. 

Comments I encourage.  

4D

Winning Strategies for Student Furniture Design Competitions: Lessons from the Judging Room

Winning a design competition is not luck. It is not about hoping judges share your subjective taste. It is an exercise in deliberate strategy. 

As an undergraduate student at Kansas State University, I entered three projects across two competitions. All three won First Place in their category:

• The Ze-Chair: First in Seating.
• The Phdesk: First in Case Goods. It folded flat for easy shipping.
• The Fit Lounge Chair: First in Summer/Casual. It folded flat to carry between the living room and the deck.

As a graduate student, I won first in the Graduate Category with an Executive Desk. It featured a closing lower drawer for the PC, and a split upper cabinet for a CRT monitor and dot matrix printer. All cables routed invisibly through a hollow rear leg.

Later, while teaching at K-State, I judged the 2007 Fresh Wood competition. That experience confirmed exactly how judges think. If you want to break through the noise, use these three foundational strategies based on real judging room experience.

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Tip 1: Master the Math of the Scorecard

The math of a competition is brutal. If you ignore a single judging criterion, you mathematically cap your score at an 80% maximum.

• The Pre-Screening Gate: Judges do not see every project. Organizers use initial digital scoring to slash the entry stack. If you miss a criterion on paper, you are eliminated before the show floor.
• The Scorecard Trap: Judges use scorecards with hard point values for criteria like originality, craft, and mass-producibility.
• The Flaw: If your piece is beautifully handcrafted but impossible to mass-produce, you get a zero in that column. Your score stalls under 80%.
• Make it Visible: Judges cannot reward what they cannot see. Did you use Teflon washers between pivoting wood parts?  Clever but hidden joinery?  Detail it explicitly on your poster and in your entry essay.

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Tip 2: Maximize the Narrative - Move Beyond "Nice Chair!"

A beautiful chair is only remembered as "Nice chair!" That is an intellectual dead end. To win, your design must tell a story.

• The Lifespan of a Story: An objective winner builds utility into the object. My Fit Lounge Chair didn't just sit there. It folded to move between spaces, store flat, or ship easily. It solved a real-world human scenario.
• Posters are Blueprints, Not Billboards: Do not just plaster your poster with one giant beauty rendering. Show the story chapters not obvious when looking at the project itself. 
• Show the Mechanics: If the utility or internal mechanics are not obvious by looking at the chair, illustrate them step-by-step on the poster. Judges study these posters during evaluation.

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Tip 3: Establish Detail Continuity

A masterfully designed piece whispers its story through micro-details that purposefully repeat, relate, and reinforce one another.

• Design Continuity: No element should exist in a vacuum. Connect your structural choices directly to your aesthetic choices.
• The First-Place Adjustable Lounge: One of my students designed a unique, highly comfortable chair using rows of vibrant red strapping for the seat and back.
• The Structural Challenge: Frame tension from sitting threatened to pull the lower stretchers loose.
• The Solution: The student used through-wedged tenons to flare the joints and lock them permanently.
• The Masterstroke: The wedges were cut from bright red bloodwood. Those small red strips perfectly related the structural joinery to the red strapping above.
• Layering the Details: The chair also featured red cam levers for angle adjustment. The straps wrapped around hidden brass rods and buckled underneath for adjustable tension.

The judges stood there and actively talked about how beautifully the red wedges and cam levers tied into the straps. It was original, comfortable, and easily mass-produced. The mechanics were explained clearly on the poster. It was an undeniable winner.

Conclusion

Most projects entered, and even those winning usually don't cover all the judging criteria, and are no more than a well made static piece. The odds of winning when all project scores are just under 80% are even. The prettiest ones win in that case. Subjective.

Throw in your project that scores a 95%, tells a great story, is dynamic, and supremely well crafted. Once your project stands above the average it becomes one that the judges dwell at. One they talk about to each other. One they bring friends over to see when the trade show opens and all are on display. A conversation starter. Objectively a winner.