WHAT IS TIME ?
Although time is commonly used as a
parameter in all sorts of useful applications such as speed
(distance / time) or acceleration (speed / time) it is also an
elusive – or abstract - variable to us. Unless we measure
the passing of events with a stopwatch, for example, we do not
always have a very good reliance for the “feel of time” – at
least compared to other physical entities, such as distance or
force. For example, we can view a tree out the window and
we can fairly estimate how far it is from us. We can do
this each and every day and consistently make the same estimate.
We are able to rely on our intuition to judge a distance.
Likewise, the force exerted when accelerating a car from a stop
will feel the same each and every day we go through the same
routine. We can rely on our intuition to understand how
much something is, without actually measuring it.
When it comes to time, however, we
are much less sure of ourselves. Unless we actually “gage”
how much time passes (such as by counting or using a watch) the
passing of time seems to fail our intuition much more than other
physical entities. On one day a lecture went for hours,
while another day it was only brief, yet the lecture was
one-hour both days. The time in a dentist-chair seemed
like a day, yet when we checked the clock it was only
thirty-minutes. Our “feel” for time is not as consistent
as other things we understand. Due to this inconsistency,
the entity of time is considered more abstract than other
physical entities.
It is
true that all we have to do is look at a clock to keep track of
time. But this is just our way of gaging something that we
might be taking for granted. Even though our clocks and
calendars are derived from the earth’s rotation and revolution
about the sun, it is still considered a “local gage” in the
whole universe. It’s no wonder time "plays culprit” when
studying relativity - it was never understood to begin with !
Along with the entity of ‘space’, scientists consider ‘time’ to
be an absolute entity – and they are both considered slightly
beyond our comprehension. It is thought that space and
time are absolute throughout the universe, and sometimes
referred to as a space-time continuum.
Our “feel” for time is not as consistent as other things we
understand.