# Tagged Questions

1answer
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### 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 ...
3answers
112 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 ...
4answers
171 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?
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 ...
1answer
52 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 ...
2answers
182 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 ...
1answer
112 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 ...
3answers
305 views

### Why do clocks measure arc-length?

Apologies in advance for the long question. My understanding is that in GR, massive observers move along timelike curves $x^\mu(\lambda)$, and if an observer moves from point $x^\mu(\lambda_a)$ to ...
1answer
93 views

### The status / acceptance of block time?

What is the current status or acceptance of block time as it relates to Einstein's theory of relativity? Has quantum mechanics ruled it out or is it still the favored view of the world? Perhaps there ...
1answer
147 views

### The real meaning of time dilation

Is this true or false: If A and B have clocks and are traveling at relative velocity to each other, then to B it APPEARS that A's clock moving slower, but A sees his own clock moving at normal speed. ...
1answer
99 views

### Why does only one twin travel in the twin paradox?

The wikipedia page repeatedly says that the twin travelling in space is the only one which travels, and also is the only one which faces acceleration and deceleration. So it does not age, while the ...
3answers
265 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 ...
1answer
103 views

### What is the maximum time dilation between two objects, if one is standing still and the other is moving at $c$?

What is the maximum ratio in the rate of change in time in reference to object $A$ which is standing still and object $B$ which is moving at the speed of light?
1answer
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### Confusion about time shift in special relativity

I have never really found a way to comfortably comprehend the idea of time shift even though I know its not the hard part of relativity theory. In that light, can someone point out what is wrong or ...
1answer
223 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.
1answer
134 views

### Does photon possesses no time to cover any arbitrary distance?

Photon travel 8 minutes (with speed $c$) from the sun to reach the earth. Any particle (or space-ship) with velocity $0.99 c$ covers the same distance (93 millions km) within less than 2 minutes ...
2answers
112 views

### Can time dilation be explained by limitations on computing power?

Are there any ideas of explaining the time dilatation as limits in "computing power"? What I mean is basically that the greater is a concentrated mass, the harder is to "compute" what happens in such ...
2answers
376 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 ...
1answer
114 views

### Time Contraction

This is my first time posting on this site. I am a computer programmer that stumbled across a physics text book and have a question on special relativity. So firstly, I understand that there is no ...
1answer
86 views

### How does light travel create time travel violating causality?

Saw a question about faster than light travel... I still have the same question though none of the answers offered any resolution for me. It is so summarily assumed by all physicists and commentaries ...
2answers
140 views

### Is there a “present state” of distant stars if simultaneity is relative?

Special relativity theory says simultaneity is relative, meaning that different observers will not agree on what happened first and what second. Does it then make sense to say that looking at distant ...
0answers
76 views

### How would an observer perceive movement on a train that's travelling near the speed of light?

Person A is on Earth and a train (or whatever you want to imagine) travels past him at near the speed of light. How would person A perceive movement on the ship? If time is slowed on the ship from the ...
2answers
159 views

### When moving fast Time slows down Vs speeds up

I was watching an old cartoon movie where a scientist makes a gadget, which when bound on the wrist, freezes the movement of the whole world. So, that one may do 100s of things in a single second. ...
9answers
444 views

### How to explain (pedagogically) why there is 4 spacetime dimensions while we see only the 3 spatial dimesions?

I have been asked this question by a student, but I was able and in the same time incapable to give a good answer for this without equations, so do you have ideas how one can explain this in a simple ...
2answers
119 views

### Speed of Entropy change

If time in systems moving with different speed goes differently, does speed of entropy change differ in these systems? (is "speed of entropy change" a valid term? can we compare them?)
3answers
739 views

### What is the length of 1 second in meters

If time is treated as a fourth dimension of spacetime, what is relation between length and time units? Or in other words, how can I convert time units to length units, for instance seconds to meters? ...
1answer
75 views

### A clock devoid of motion

My understanding is that every clock mechanism we have depends on motion of something w.r.t the observer. From atomic transitions to clockwork gears. So, does this property/constraint makes every ...
1answer
172 views

### Does the Earth's revolution around the Sun affect radioactive decay?

Premises: The radioactivity is either hastened or slowed inside a fast moving aircraft. Speed of fastest aircraft: 3,529.6 km/h. The earth's revolution is: 107278.87 km/h. The earth's ...
3answers
148 views

### Time slowing down problem

When someone moves, time slows down for him. Let, a man standing still and another moving very very very fast, this happens for an hour (as measured by the standing man). Time has moved slower for the ...
4answers
332 views

### Why are objects at rest in motion through spacetime at the speed of light?

I read that an object at rest has such a stupendous amount of energy, $E=mc^2$ because it's effectively in motion through space-time at the speed of light and it's traveling through the time dimension ...
5answers
487 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 ...
1answer
205 views

### Two identical rockets, time dilation, and possible weirdness [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Why isn't the symmetric twin paradox a paradox? Suppose there are two identical rockets, each carrying one of two identical clocks and one of two identical ...
3answers
173 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 ...
2answers
586 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 ...
1answer
133 views

### Approximate Time Dilation at Rocket Speeds

How do you calculate the time dilation effect experienced by a traveler traveling at a relatively low speed? Specifically, how much time dilation would a traveller moving at $v=0.0007 c$ (speed of ...
2answers
337 views

### Time dilation as an observer in special relativity

I've been having a discussion regarding time dilation relating to special relativity and how it should be observed from the FoR (Frame of Reference) of "the person moving" : I assert- If we have a ...
1answer
283 views

### Einstein Relative Motion and Time Order of Events

According to Einstein, do observers in relative motion agree on the time order of all events? I don't think they would agree on the timing of events, but I am having trouble figuring out why they ...
3answers
136 views

### How can we know, today, that there's something from 100 light-years from here?

In my understanding, to take a picture of something that is 100 light-years from here, our "camera" would have to travel 100 years at light speed, take the picture, send to us, and 100 years later we ...
4answers
817 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 ...
13answers
1k views

### 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 ...
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, ...
4answers
722 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 ...
3answers
549 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?
2answers
202 views

### Special Relativity and time [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Question about Time Dilation.. I have a question about special relativity which was bothering me for a while now. I know that as one approaches the speed of light, time ...
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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554 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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