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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6answers
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Is time travel possible? Is it possible to go back in time?
I read somewhere that according to relativity, black holes and other space related stuff it is possible to jump into past.
Is it possible for anything to go back in time either continuously or by ...
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4answers
2k views
The Time That 2 Masses Will Collide Due To Newtonian Gravity
My friend and I have been wracking our heads with this one for the past 3 hours...
We have 2 point masses, $m$ and $M$ in a perfect world separated by radius r. Starting from rest, they both begin to ...
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9answers
676 views
understanding time: Is time simply the rate change?
Is time simply the rate of change?
If this is the case and time was created during the big bang would it be the case that the closer you get to the start of the big bang the "slower" things change ...
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2answers
557 views
Symmetrical twin paradox
Take the following gedankenexperiment in which two astronauts meet each other again and again in a perfectly symmetrical setting - a hyperspherical (3-manifold) universe in which the 3 dimensions are ...
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13answers
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What are the mechanics by which Time Dilation and Length Contraction occur?
What are the mechanics of time dilation and length contraction? Going beyond the mathematical equations involving light and the "speed limit of the universe", what is observed is merely a phenomenon ...
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4answers
1k views
Did time exist before the creation of matter in the universe?
Does time stretch all the way back for infinity or was there a point when time appears to start in the universe?
I remember reading long ago somewhere that according to one theory time began shortly ...
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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 ...
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4answers
2k views
How is the classical twin paradox resolved?
I read a lot about the classical twin paradox recently. What confuses me is that some authors claim that it can be resolved within SRT, others say that you need GRT. Now, what is true (and why)?
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2answers
419 views
What is the fastest process or shortest time in nature?
We know about some events that happen very quickly. For example, the dielectric relaxation time is about $10^{-14}\, \mathrm{seconds}$.
I'm interested in other processes that switch extremely fast ...
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3answers
182 views
Black hole formation as seen by a distant observer [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can anything ever fall into a black hole as seen from an outside observer?
Is black hole formation observable for a distant observer in finite amount of time? ...
7
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3answers
676 views
Can black holes actually merge?
If time stops at the event horizon, can we ever detect two black holes merging? In other words, if you are a short distance away, would you encounter a spherically symmetric gravitational field, or a ...
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1answer
644 views
Question about Time Dilation
I just have a quick question about time dilation/proper time because my physics book makes it a little confusing. Let's say we have an observer on Earth, and then an observer on a space ship. The ...
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5answers
3k views
How can something happen when time does not exist?
I saw this documentary hosted by Stephen Hawkins: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQhd05ZVYWg
And if I didn't get it wrong, it says that there was no time before the big bang, time was created there.
So how ...
14
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3answers
1k views
What is the difference between implicit and explicit time dependence e.g. $\frac{\partial \rho}{\partial t}$ and $\frac{d \rho} {dt}$?
What is the difference between implicit and explicit time dependence e.g. $\frac{\partial \rho}{\partial t}$ and $\frac{d \rho} {dt}$?
I know one is a partial derivative and the other is a total ...
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5answers
492 views
Why isn't the symmetric twin paradox a paradox?
Two twin sisters synchronize their watches and simultaneously (from the earth frame) depart earth in different directions. Following a predetermined flight plan, each sister accelerates identically to ...
5
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1answer
330 views
Intuition for multiple temporal dimensions
It’s easy, relatively speaking, to develop an intuition for higher spatial dimensions, usually by induction on familiar lower-dimensional spaces. But I’m having difficulty envisioning a universe with ...
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3answers
791 views
Hours of light per day based on latitude/longitude formula
I'm looking for a formula that will return the number of hours per day given a specific location. I was thinking that can be calculated as a difference of sunrise and sunset, but I see that there are ...
9
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3answers
52 views
Seeing cosmic activity now, really means it happens millions/billions of years ago?
A Recent report about a cosmic burst 3.8 billion light years away. It is written as though it is happening now. However, my question is, if the event is 3.8 billion light years away, doesn't that mean ...
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8answers
2k views
Is time continuous?
I was making universe simulations, and I noticed that I implemented discrete time (the only type possible on computers). By that, I mean that I had an update function, that was called many times per ...
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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 ...
4
votes
1answer
135 views
What time scale is used by the JPL HORIZONS system?
I'm confused by the ust of the term "UT" in the description of time scales used by the JPL HORIZONS system.
Their manual states that
UT is Universal Time This can mean one of two non-uniform ...
4
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2answers
299 views
Does String theory say that spacetime is not fundamental but should be considered an emergent phenomenon?
Does String theory say that spacetime is not fundamental but should be considered an emergent phenomenon?
If so, can quantum mechanics describe the universe at high energies where there is no ...
9
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5answers
6k views
How exactly does time slow down near a black hole?
How exactly does time slow down near a black hole? I have heard this as a possible way of time traveling, and I do understand that it is due in some way to the massive gravity around a black hole, but ...
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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 ...
5
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1answer
224 views
What is the speed of time
When we measure the speed of a moving element we do it with the help of a reference frame. Now if we need to measure the speed of time, is it possible? Is time really has speed?
Thanks in advance.
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2answers
287 views
Is there an observable of time?
In Quantum Mechanics, position is an observable, but time may be not. I think that time is simply a classical parameter associated with the act of measurement, but is there an observable of time? And ...
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2answers
361 views
Is Time Significant in the Double Slit Experiment
When doing the classic double slit experiment is the time between emitting photons significant at all? Say, a single photon is emitted, the scientist waits T seconds, then emits another photon. Are ...
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1answer
278 views
What is actually meant by 'sun set' and 'sun rise' times, when taking into account the mirage due to light bending in the atmosphere
I’ve heard from the likes of Brian Cox that what we see of the sun during a sunset and sun rise is actually the mirage of the sun. The Sun has actually set/risen and we see it due to the way light is ...
4
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4answers
839 views
That 10km/day error predicted if GPS satellite clocks not corrected for relativity
Some authorities have stated publicly and without explanation that if the theories of Special and General Relativity were not taken into account in the design of the GPS (by building the satellite ...
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5answers
358 views
More than one time dimension
We know that space-time dimensions are 3+1 macroscopically, but what if 2+2?
Obviously it is tough to imagine two time dimensions, but mathematically we can always imagine as either having two ...
5
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0answers
212 views
Why is my approach to the equation of time off by a constant?
I'm trying to better understand the causes for the equation of time by deriving an approximation from first principles.
My naive approach, $EOT_{NAIVE}$, is to take the difference between the right ...
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 ...
4
votes
3answers
174 views
Twin paradox - observers counter orbiting Earth
Imagine three observers - one (A) stationary on the surface of Earth (latitude 0 deg) and two others orbiting the planet in the same circular equatorial orbit just in the opposite direction. When the ...
4
votes
2answers
598 views
How can time be relative?
I don't understand how time can be relative to different observers, and I think my confusion is around how I understand what time is.
I have always been told (and thought) that time is basically a ...
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2answers
359 views
Why is time special?
In Special Relativity, the spacetime interval between two events is $s^2 = -(c{\Delta}t)^2+({\Delta}x)^2+({\Delta}y)^2+({\Delta}z)^2$ giving the Minkowski metric $\eta_{\mu\nu}=\text{diag}(-1, 1, 1, ...
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7answers
608 views
Time, what is it? [closed]
If you ask any person about time, she/he will give you some answer.
I suspect that it is extremely difficult, (if not impossible) to define time.
Is there a definition of what it is in physics? Is it ...
4
votes
5answers
934 views
How many colors exist?
How many "colors" do exist?
Our perception:
As far as I know, colors are just different frequencies of light. According to wikipedia, we can see wavelengths from about 380 nm und 740 nm. This means ...
4
votes
7answers
375 views
Is 'now' smeared over time?
Conventional physics as is usually presented in textbooks deals with the evolution of states in phase space parameterized by sharp instances in time, a real parameter. However, quantum fluctuations ...
3
votes
2answers
262 views
When is the right ascension of the mean sun 0?
I understand that the right ascension of the mean sun changes (at least over a specified period) by a constant rate, but where is it zero? I had naively assumed that it would be zero at the most ...
3
votes
3answers
554 views
Time in special relativity and quantum mechanics
The time is treated differently in special relativity and quantum mechanics. What is the exact difference and why relativistic quantum mechanics (Dirac equation etc.) works?
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3answers
268 views
Is time dilation an illusion?
It is said that we can verify time dilation by flying a very accurate clock on a fast jet or spaceship and prove that it registers less time than the clocks on earth. However, the clocks on earth ...
2
votes
1answer
125 views
How do physicists and astronomers handle leap seconds?
I'm confused by the many contradictory descriptions I see about how UTC leap seconds are accounted for. I understand that there are various ways to handle them in common practice, and I've seen a ...
2
votes
3answers
173 views
In a very small static universe with only a particle, does it make sense to talk about time?
I am sorry if this question is silly; it′s just one of those things I wished I asked before leaving university.
If there were a static universe only as big as the size of two particles, say ...
2
votes
3answers
205 views
Is there a point in universe that is observable at present?
We know that we can see distant galaxies only billions years before now. We can observe the nearest stars just several years before the present. Something on the Moon can be observed only some seconds ...
2
votes
4answers
565 views
How long would it take to travel through a wormhole?
Assuming wormholes exist and you put some matter into one, how long would it take to reach the other end versus how far apart the two ends are? Basically, by how much does a wormhole stretch ...
2
votes
2answers
428 views
Big bang and time
I heard Carl Sagan talking about the Universe 15 Billion years ago, and the Big Bang. He made the statement that it was the biggest explosion of all time (at first I thought this a subtle pun). This ...
1
vote
1answer
338 views
Universe Expansion as an absolute time reference
Why we call "constant" to the Hubble constant?,
if the universe were really expanding then the Hubble "constant" should change, being variable, smaller and smaller..with "time".
Other example/view ...
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4answers
731 views
Relativity in Real Life
I have no formal training at all in relativity. But I was just wondering if our perception of time is altered by different events. Here are some examples I had in mind:
If I touch a stove for 10 ...
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2answers
377 views
What's the difference between space and time?
I'm having a hard time understanding how changing space means changing time. In books I've read people are saying "space and time" or "space-time" but never explain what the difference is between the ...
5
votes
2answers
312 views
The analogy between temperature and imaginary time
There are many statements about the relation between time and temperature in statistical physics and quantum field theory, the basic idea is to interpret (inverse) temperature in statistics as "time" ...
