Time is defined operationally to be that which is measured by clocks. The SI unit of time is the second, which is defined to be
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3answers
56 views
Does one second exist? [closed]
Let us assume .5 second has passed. Now similarly let .9 seconds also passed..
Then let's say that .99 second has passed...we're still not done because 1 second hasn't passed.
Then follows .999 ...
0
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0answers
9 views
1D Kinematics - Relative Motion involving non-inertial frames of reference
I recently came across a question involving non-inertial frames of reference. I didn't quite understand the way it had been solved due to some conceptual confusion regarding certain deductions made to ...
1
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4answers
109 views
How can the big bang occur mathematically?
As we know time began with the big bang. Before that there was no time, no laws, nothing. Mathematically how can an event take place when no time passes by? How did the big bang took place when there ...
3
votes
2answers
90 views
Imaginary time in QFT
I'm reading chapter 4 of Introduction to Quantum Field Theory by Peskin & Schroeder. In the $\phi^4$ theory, the authors state that the ground state of the interaction theory $|\Omega\rangle$ can ...
3
votes
3answers
61 views
Does the expansion of the universe soon after the Big Bang affect the amount of time that light takes to reach us?
If faster than light travel is impossible, how is it that light emitted from matter so close together in the time soon after the Big Bang is only now just reaching us? I would assume that there would ...
0
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1answer
70 views
How do we know that time and distance are not discrete?
I know that it is believed that energy is discrete, in that it travels in quanta. I was wondering if there is any evidence which either proves or disproves something similar with both time and ...
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1answer
27 views
How to find time taken for a spinning top to stop? [closed]
The angular position of a spinning top is given by $\theta = t^3 - 72t$, where $t$ is in seconds
and $\theta$ in "radian".
3
votes
1answer
77 views
Will the black hole evaporate in finite time from external observer's perspective?
There is the problem that is bothering me with the black hole evaporation because of Hawking radiation.
According to Hawking theory the black hole will evaporate in finite time because of quantum ...
13
votes
1answer
149 views
Is period of rotation relative?
My question is inspired by the following answer by voix to another problem:
"There is a real object with relativistic speed of surface - millisecond pulsar. The swiftest spinning pulsar currently ...
7
votes
3answers
115 views
Do velocity and acceleration time dilation factors add?
For a spinning space station such as in 2001, A Space Odyssey, what would be the time slowing in the perimeter of the spinning space station with respect to the center axis of the station?
The ...
4
votes
2answers
75 views
Does it make a sense to speak about age of electron or atom?
It's possible that this question is too soft or even quite senseless for this forum, but I will ask nevertheless.
Everyday (macroscopic) things, like a grandfather's pendulum clock or the grandfather ...
0
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2answers
61 views
What is the common difference between partial time derivative and ordinary time derivative? [duplicate]
What is difference between partial and ordinary time derivative?
for example: what is difference between $\frac {\partial v}{\partial t}$ and $\frac {dv}{dt}$?
where the $v$ is velocity.
1
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2answers
43 views
Area under a displacement graph
If the area under an acceleration-time graph denotes velocity and the area under a velocity-time graph denotes displacement, what exactly does the area under a displacement-time graph denote?
0
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0answers
38 views
Time ordering and Fermions
Having time ordering operator for fermions, should it reverse sign if it swaps operators with opposite spin variable? In other words should
$T[c_{t_1,\uparrow}c_{t_2,\downarrow}^\dagger]$
return ...
1
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4answers
174 views
What is the exact mechanism by which time dilates?
What is the exact mechanism by which time dilates for a fast moving object?
Can the time dilation be explained by any theory other than relativity?
7
votes
1answer
110 views
Cancelling special & general relativistic effects
We know that for a GPS we need to make a correction for both general and special relativity: general relativity predicts that clocks go slower in a higher gravitational field (the clock aboard a GPS ...
0
votes
1answer
113 views
Did space and time exist before the Big Bang? [duplicate]
I accept the Big Bang theory. What I can't understand is how there can be a where or when to the Big Bang if space time did not exist prior to it. Did space and time exist prior to the Big Bang?
1
vote
1answer
21 views
Are “timed” measurements actually revealing error-distributions of the measurement apparati?
A thought experiment:
Given some object moving (swinging) from left to right and back with constant velocity, imagine a camera set up to take a picture of the scene at a fixed interval so that we can ...
1
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0answers
81 views
General physics question involving Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
Question:
An unstable particle produced in a high-energy collision is measured to have an energy of $483\ \mathrm{MeV}$ and an uncertainty in energy of $84\ \mathrm{keV}$. Use the Heisenberg ...
2
votes
4answers
204 views
Time inside a Black hole
If time stops inside a black hole, due to gravitational time dilation, how can it's life end after a very long time? If time doesn't pass inside a black hole, then an event to occur inside a black ...
2
votes
1answer
99 views
Need help with the position of a particle in a velocity-versus-time graph
I am having trouble with a velocity-versus-time graph. I recently took a Physics test that asked this question: The graph shows the velocity versus time for a particle moving along the $x$ axis. The ...
3
votes
2answers
268 views
Is time Scalar or Vector
In
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_physics
its said that time is a scalar quantity. But its hard to understand that how ? As stated that we consider only the magnitude of time then its a scalar. ...
0
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4answers
164 views
Bear with me, this is a stupid question. Talking on the phone and time
So a few days ago I noticed (im sure we all just know this) that when talking on the phone you receive the messages a few seconds after it is said by the sender.
So person A says "hello" to person B.
...
4
votes
3answers
320 views
Is there a mechanism for time symmetry breaking?
Excluding Thermodynamic's arrow of time, all mathematical descriptions of time are symmetric. We know the arrow of time is real and we know the equations describing physics are real so is there any ...
3
votes
3answers
179 views
How do we know for certain that space is expanding?
How do we know for certain that space is expanding?
Let's say that in the year 1950, we observe that galaxy 1 is 5 billion light years away from us and galaxy 2 is 10 billion light years away from ...
3
votes
3answers
119 views
Looking out into the universe means looking back in time - how does that work?
This is a question that has been gnawing on me for many years now. Back a long time ago, as I recall in reference to a scene in a popular science show on TV, I was asked the following.
The claim is ...
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1answer
77 views
US time zones and Daylight saving time, energy efficient? [closed]
As a foreigner, United States has a very complex time system for me. Central Time Zone, North American Eastern Time Zone, ...
2
votes
4answers
206 views
Why a day is divided by 12/24 hours? Why the number 12?
Why a day is divided by 12/24 hours? Why the number 12? Why not using 10 or 6 or 14, 16? Who invented this? Any physical reasons behind this?
1
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0answers
76 views
Do particles travel backward and forward in time? [duplicate]
All these classical ideas are pointless and obsolete today, because in quantum mechanics, the particles are completely different objects, defined by quantum motion of fields, not by the location of ...
0
votes
1answer
87 views
Does our local time speed up as the Universe expands?
Starting from a simplified radial Freidman Walker metric we have
$$ds^2 = -c^2 dt^2 + a(t)^2 dr^2 $$
How does one measure one's proper time operationally?
One times a light beam along an element of ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
Time Dilation in relation to Acceleration
What I am looking for is a layman's explanation on the equations required to work out Time Dilation at high speeds including acceleration and deceleration of velocity. Or I would greatly appreciate it ...
1
vote
1answer
86 views
How much time has passed for Voyager I since it left the Earth, 34 years ago?
34 years have passed since Voyager I took off and it's just crossing the solar system, being approximately at 16.4 light-hours away. How much time have passed for itself, though?
1
vote
2answers
183 views
Will observers moving on a sphere experience time dilation?
A single source of light exists at a fixed point in space relative to two observers. The two observers move on the surface of a shell with a fixed radius with the light source at its centre. They move ...
5
votes
1answer
120 views
Does the collapse of the wave function increase entropy of the atomic system itself?
Does wave-function collapse cause the entropy of the atom (ie. the sub-atomic particle system that makes up the atom) to increase?
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0answers
27 views
What is the formula for calculating the length of any given day (sunrise to sunset)? [duplicate]
In a specific date what law gives us perfect measurements and how will we measure if latitude is given?
4
votes
1answer
93 views
Understanding how the rate of time changes
The rate at which time passes is relative depending on speed and the gravity as predicted in general relativity. This theory has been tested by scientists by comparing two identical atomic clocks, one ...
0
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0answers
34 views
Why there is no operator for time in QM? [duplicate]
Is there one central reason why there is no "Time" operator in QM?
I know this question has been asked before, but I thought I would try to stimulate some fresh thinking.
1
vote
2answers
114 views
Calculating Average Velocity
I understand that the concept of an average of a data list means finding a certain value 'x', which ensures that the sum of the deviations of the numbers on the left of 'x' and on the right of 'x' ...
0
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2answers
160 views
Imaginary time and string theory
Is imaginary time an extra dimension?
In other words, are time and imaginary time considered two separate dimensions?
If so, does imaginary time appear (as a separate dimension) in string theory (thus ...
-1
votes
1answer
104 views
How do photons experience time? [duplicate]
I know that as velocity approaches the speed of light the time dilation shoots to infinity as shown below.
1)So I want to know how time is perceived from the point of view of the photon?
2)Since ...
0
votes
1answer
93 views
Deriving infinitesimal time dilation for arbitrary motion from Lorentz transformations
I'm trying to derive the infinitesimal time dilation relation $dt = \gamma d\tau$, where $\tau$ is the proper time, $t$ the coordinate time, and $\gamma = (1-v(t)^2/c^2)^{-1/2}$ the time dependent ...
1
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0answers
50 views
Wormholes and the illusion of time?
I was watching a video on Youtube by Brian Greene, "the illusion of time."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-u1aaltiq4
In that video, he introduces to me the idea of a "brane," or a slice of the ...
1
vote
1answer
92 views
How can we know the time frames for events in the early universe?
I just finished watching Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (2010). Specifically the third episode titled 'The Story of Everything.'
In the episode Hawking is explaining the mainstream theories ...
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votes
2answers
115 views
Is this a great flaw in big bang theory? [duplicate]
Einstein said that, Time & Space cannot exists without one another. Big bang says, time didn't exist before the big bang. So the Primordial ball referred in the Big Bang theory didn't had any ...
8
votes
2answers
248 views
Question about proper time in general relativity
I think I may have some fundamental misunderstanding about what $dt, dx$ are in general relativity.
As I understand it, in special relativity, $ds^2=dt^2-dx^2$, we call this the length because it is ...
2
votes
1answer
113 views
Life of a photon [duplicate]
I am a student of class 12th and as far as i know when anything reaches about 99.99% of the speed of light it starts traveling in time or time for it slows down so that it don't breaks the speed ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
parallel=time, perpendicular=space? on multiple time dimensions
There are some discussions on more than one time dimensions, e.g., Intuition for multiple temporal dimensions and More than one time dimension.
If we define that the parallel direction is time, of ...
1
vote
1answer
139 views
Do residents of the Hudson Bay area have more time?
Apparently there is a gravity anomaly in the Hudson Bay Area in Canada: gravity is "missing" or it is slightly less than it is in the rest of the world.
Does that mean that things in the Hudson Bay ...
4
votes
1answer
102 views
How is the direction of time determined in general relativity?
In special relativity every frame has its own unique time axis, represented in Minkowski diagrams by a fan-out of time vectors that grows infinitely dense as you approach the surface of the light cone ...
4
votes
5answers
300 views
What is $\Delta t$ in the time-energy uncertainty principle?
In non-relativistic QM, the $\Delta E$ in the time-energy uncertainty principle is the limiting standard deviation of the set of energy measurements of $n$ identically prepared systems as $n$ goes to ...
