Time dilation Definition and 999 Threads

Hi All. I have a little bit of a strange question I'm trying to figure out. If a human body was undergoing time dilation relative to another object, we believe that their brain, and therefore mind would slow down along with the rest of their body, correct? If this is so, and light...

Hello Forum, if one observer A is at rest, its clock measures proper time. Observer A could look at the clock on a spacecraft moving at a large fraction of the speed of light and see that the clock on the spacecraft ticks more slowly, leading to time dilation... To look at that clock in...

OK, I've found a great explanation of the derivation of the Lorentz transformation, with x' = γ [ x - v t ] t' = γ [ t - ( v / c2 ) x ] so if I take the other term as 0, there is x'( t = 0 ) = γ x t'( x = 0 ) = γ t but the problem is that the time dilation & length...

I have a question relating to relativistic time dilation and thermodynamics. I have put the question in the context of a thought experiment. This I have done as I can not find the particular terminology needed to ask a more succinct question. I have also taken some liberty to try to make the...

Hey everyone, I've searched the threads for an answer to my question but came up short. Basically what I want to know is how does time dilation relate to the twin paradox. I'm a newb to relativity and just started reading about it last night. I hit this bump and I'm trying to get over it...

Let's say we have two objects in space, far from any gravitational source. In each "object", there's an observer, and a clock. Each observer is constantly looking at both clocks(his and the other object's). Now, for observer A, observer B is moving at 0.9c, and for observer B it's the exact...

hi sorry about my english. i am from france. i have a few questions about the image i have found in my schoolbook that i attached to this post. there is a light signal moving up and down and each time it reaches the upper mirror this is somehow detected. there are also two observers: one...

Say we had two different civilisations in two different galaxies and an observer in a neutral area of space between the two. We are going to have a race to see which civilisation can develop technology the fastest and reach the observer before the other, both are of the same species and have...

I was listening to a lecture about the expansion of the universe and found myself confused about the light we see from very distant galaxies. These galaxies are red shifted because they are moving away from us and the photons are being stretched. Does this mean that the galaxy will appear to...

If I am in free-fall and then I throw a clock above me so that it is moving away from me at a constant speed, can I just use regular time dilation to see how time is flowing in the clocks frame relative to my frame? Or do I need to worry about gravitational time dilation.

hi i have some troubles to understand something properly: if oberserver A is not moving in his inertial frame and there is some observer B moving relatively to oberserver A with velocity V, then this observer B will measure a different(shorter) time from the one that is measured by observer A...

Homework Statement We observe a spaceship moving away from the Earth at a velocity of v = 0.866c. The spaceship emits two light signals, the second one 4 seconds (Delta T') after the first one (measured on board). What is the time interval (Delta T) between the arrival of the two light signals...

All, I am having a problem resolving the common examples that are used to explain time dilation as a consequence of the constancy of the speed of light. I can't help but assume that there is something simple and fundamental that I'm missing here. I apologize in advance for forcing you to use...

Hello Friends, Consider a Linear accelerator, at the one end there is a Muon Generator, and it produces a certain amount of Mouns, let's say 'x'. These Muons are accelerated to the other End of the accelerator, where the number of Muons reached are detected and displayed on a Digital display...

I've read that time and space dilate under acceleration to ensure the constant speed of light. I'm having trouble visualizing a scenario that illustrates this concept. Could someone please explain this to me? Thanks.

I need some help to answer a question as my physics background, while self taught, still has some holes both from following only specifics and gaps since studying it. The question is below. "is there a reputable function for the effect of time dilation in special relativity or is just...

I have a few questions about time dilation and how it accumulates. 1a. Say you have a situation where you have two clocks that move away from each other with symmetrical acceleration and relative motion. From what I understand, each clock would appear to have slowed down relative to the...

So I know it has to do with reference frames and such, and I know that it is all about time relative to different observers, what I don't understand is how exactly is it that when you're moving at a speed close to 'c', you actually physically experience a different time interval than someone who...

I understand time dilation exists according to relativity theory. But what I'm not able to understand is this statement, "clock is ticking faster/slower on a moving object compared to observer". How is that possible to measure it? or how does the clock (atomic/quartz) it experience the time...

I only just started learning about special relativity in my physics class, and I have been running into a problem that none of my teachers have satisfactorily explained. Objects X and Y are moving relative to one another at some significant fraction of the speed of light, where ɣ is the...

Homework Statement Hi, I have a question which asks me to find the time difference (difference between a stationary frame and one that is moving at 30m/s for 1 hour) it has asked me to use binomial approximation and I am kind of lost as to what I need to do to solve the equation. Homework...

Lorenz-factor has remarkable influence at speeds near to light, but formula itself has no limits. So, time dilation occurs also with slow speeds. From my point of view (an observer), Venus and Mars have different speeds which means different time dilation and this means different speed of...

Is there a difference between Time Distortion and Time Dilation? If so, what's the difference?

Homework Statement I am trying to derive the time dilation formula using Pythagorean theorem: L = ct (in clocks rest frame) D = ct'(in observer's frame, the clock moving with velocity u) The Attempt at a Solution So D^2 = L^2 +v^2t^2 c^2{t'}^2=c^2t^2+u^2t^2 Sot'=t*\sqrt{1+v^2/c^2}...

I have been working on something and I want to see if you guys get the same result. Let's say we have a hovering observer at r from a large gravitating body such as the sun. The gravitational time dilation there would be z_r = sqrt(1 - 2 G M / (r c^2)), correct? If a clock directly passes the...

Hi guys, I'll start by saying that I've properly looked on Google, and have come up with nothing. I'm looking for a table of data from any experiment that shows time dilation within the data. Just something I can produce a graph from and SHOW the relationship between velocity and time...

This link is confusing me. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/relativ/muon.html In this link, with non-relativistic method, half life is calculated as 21.8. But with relativistic method half life is calculated as 4.36. We calculate half life considering time dilation for muon...

Hi all I am new to relativity, and through the books that I have chosen to learn the subject (that cater to my level) I seemed to be following with ease. However, I was posed with a simple question that I could not answer, and whatever it is, the thing that I am overlooking still eludes me...

I'm trying to wrap my head around how C could be constant and time can change depending on perspective. I wasn't getting anywhere until I starting thinking of light as water and then I started feeling like I understood it a little better but tell me if this is accurate at all. If running...

Consider the following, from the prospective of General Relativity: A photon's path between two points, point O (emitted point, from galaxy GO) to point R (received point, in Galaxy GR): O: point of photon's origin, in space GFO: gravitational field force at point O, due to its position in...

The title isn't quite clear, because the question was a little too long. Here it is in full: How to apply length contraction and time dilation to a moving observer to measure the speed of light of a light beam moving parallel to their reference frame. Imagery and familiarity are my...

Question from a layman. All the experiments that have been done, muons, atomic clocks in jets, ect All of these involve measuring time with subatomic particles. Has there been experiments to confirm time dilation w/o the use of particles? (Maybe like a computer program syncing and...

Homework Statement A physics instructor is 22 years older than her student. She decides that instead she would like to be 22 years younger than her student and decides to use special relativity to accomplish this. She jumps in her super rocket travels away from Earth for a period of 1 years...

Suppose there exists an absolute frame. The observer is at rest. an object moves with velocity v. Suppose it contracts as expected. Does this imply automatically that time dilation occurred?

I fully understand time dilation if I already could believe it, but I am not convinced yet. What is the most convincing argument for you, that you are sure time dilation exist and so duration is different in locations (when duration is always the same, I believe in time dilation too, that's...

Physics Special Relativity Time Dilation Question? Homework Statement Which of the following situations is the time interval between the two events in one frame equal to y(gamma) multiplied by the time interval in the other frame? 1. 2 Rocketships pass each other in space with high a high...

Some questions about the title. I know that at the speed of light the passage of time is effectively zero. Something I've never come across before is the amount of mass required to generate a gravitational field strong enough such that gravitational time dilation is also reduced to 0. Is...

For the explanation of the Lorentz derivation in Wiki with the known triangle, 2 rest frames are considered in 1 view, so that's not forbidden. So I do too. To explain time dilation is easier to understand if you see it by length contraction. That could be explained somehow in the future...

Would it be possible that every rest frame is going through a force field so everything will be smaller on atom level and time goes slower too (Lorentz, Einstein) ? So that force field is the holder of the encapsulated ration distance / time (C) ... That would explain the unknown time...

Let Einstein and his army stand still on their roller skates all the way on a conveyor belt of many light years in length between two planets. Each skater has mini model light clock on his head. Also granting toe and heel of two consecutive skaters touches each other on this conveyor belt which...

This page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation clearly explains time dilation by exampling with the light clock. But how can it be explained if suppose there was a simple mechanical clock instead of light clock. So, now for moving observer there is no light (in light clock) to follow...

I've just been introduced to special relativity and time dilation. I understand that if someone in a frame of reference X bounces a beam of light vertically within two parallel mirrors, I, in a frame of reference Y moving at a uniform velocity 'U' from X, will see the light beam moving across a...

I watched a documentary that introduced SR. Ok, I don't know the theory very mathematically. But what I know of and the documentary says is that time itself slows down to prevent the maximum speed, c, to be broken. It said that if time doesn't slows down, when we ride a rocket moving close...

Homework Statement An Earth satellite used in the Global Positioning System moves in a circular orbit with period 11 hours and 58 min. The satellitle contains an oscillator producing the principal nonmilitary GPS signal. Its frequency is 1575.42 MHz in the reference frame of the satellite...

it seems to me that time dilation takes effect in the process of acceleration- similar to the affect of gravity on time- rather than in the kinetic energy of a constant velocity. 1- consider two ships departing Earth in opposite directions at 200,000 km/hr each. an earthling sees the ships'...

Homework Statement Two events are observed by inertial observer Stampy to occur a spatial distance of 15 c·s apart with the spatial coordinate of the second larger than the spatial coordinate of the first. Stampy also determines that the second event occurred 17 s after the first. According...

Homework Statement Heide boards a spaceship and travels away from Earth at a constant velocity of 0.45c toward Betelgeuse (a red giant star in the constellation Orion). One year later on Earth clocks, Heide’s twin, Hans, boards a second spaceship and follows her at a constant velocity of 0.95c...

Me and a few friend are currently having a large argument whether time is actually changing when a shuttle is moving near the speed of light. so the scenario is a shuttle moves near the speed of light for 100 years. with a clock set to 0:00:00 and a person on Earth also has a clock at 0:00:00...

Hey! I'm trying to understand time dilation in terms of minkowski diagrams. Below I've added a diagram showing the two coordinate systems where the primed one moves relative to the unprimed one with a speed v. http://mindseye.no/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/time1.png My reasoning in this...

Quoting from Wikipedia: "Time dilation would make it possible for passengers in a fast-moving vehicle to travel further into the future while aging very little, in that their great speed slows down the rate of passage of on-board time. That is, the ship's clock (and according to relativity...