Abstract

What if time does not exist until entropy begins? This article introduces the Entropy-Driven Temporal Ontology (EDTO), a theory that rejects both substantival and symmetric relational models of time. Instead, it asserts that time emerges only through irreversible mass–energy interactions that produce entropy. Drawing on thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and relational physics, EDTO formalises a new condition for temporal emergence, the Time Origin Formula (TaMES), which defines the exact point at which a system begins to generate time. The first unit of emergent time, termed the Protaeon, occurs at the initial production of entropy. Each subsequent increment, denoted by Sampi (ϡ), marks a discrete moment generated by a qualifying local interaction. Their accumulation forms a structured tempo observable in macroscopic systems. This tripartite model: Protaeon, Elemental Sampi ϡ, Systemic Sampi Ͳ, offers a physical and philosophical mechanism for quantised temporality. By grounding time in entropy production, EDTO offers a resolution to longstanding paradoxes such as the arrow of time and the absence of time in quantum measurement. It diverges from block universe and geometric time dilation models, instead predicting that systems with no entropy production generate no time. The theory accommodates time reversal under negative entropy, temporally inert matter, and system-relative temporal densities. Crucially, EDTO is testable. Annex C proposes empirical methods to distinguish geometric from thermodynamic time dilation, positioning this ontology within reach of experimental validation. Time, in this framework, is not a given. It begins, unfolds, and may ultimately cease.