Speed of Time

[Physia]

If time is fast; what is the speed of time and how do you measure it?

[DrP]

We equate it to the frequency and vibration of a quartz crystal for most watches. We also have the earth revolving around the sun as a 'standard' measure for time.

 

second (s): In the International System of Units (SI), the time interval equal to 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium-133 atom.

 

Going further:- time and space are linked by relativistic means so, at speeds close to C time dilates........... (look up relativity)

 

 

 

 

In fact, your question "what is the speed of time?" is alot more complicated as time doesn't have 'speed' because speed is measured as a distance travelled over TIME!

 

Anyway - here are some definitions of time which may (or not) help as your question goes alot deeper than you might think.

http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci552553,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/time

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci524077,00.html

[insane_alien]

time is not an entity. it is a dimension. it has no speed.

 

it is like asking 'what is the speed of left?'.

[thedarkshade]

I'd go with i_a here.

 

You may have heard that time is the fourth dimension, and it is. To define a location you need three number, x, y and z. This is why we say locations are defined by a three dimensional number. But when it comes to event, there is another factor: TIME. So events are defined by a four dimensional factor number (x y z and time).

 

That all the fancy stuff about time being the fourth dimension.

[DrP]

In fact, your question "what is the speed of time?" is alot more complicated as time doesn't have 'speed' because speed is measured as a distance travelled over TIME!

 

That is what I ment by this really.

[ydoaPs]

Did you know SFN has a search function?

[JohnB]

Call me Mr. Thicko here, but wouldn't the speed of time = 1 second per second?

[thedarkshade]

second per second would give 1 , no unit!

 

edit: and time does not have speed, it is a dimension

[iNow]

Call me Mr. Thicko here, but wouldn't the speed of time = 1 second per second?

 

Not necessarily. It could also be one minute per minute, one hour per hour, one day per day, or all manner of other redundant scales.

 

 

 

I think IAs response hit the nail on the head. "it is like asking 'what is the speed of left?'."

[ydoaPs]

second per second would give 1 , no unit!

 

edit: and time does not have speed, it is a dimension

 

Actually, you could define a "speed" of time with respect to the time of another reference frame. Check out the link I posted.

[JohnB]

I think IAs response hit the nail on the head.

I think IA has it down too.

"it is like asking 'what is the speed of left?'."

Easy, 5/4 the speed of right.

[timo]

If time is fast; what is the speed of time and how do you measure it?

The key is the question "what is the speed of time". The term is not a commonly-used one and hence has no generally-understood meaning. Furthermore, it is not a constructed term whose meaning would be obvious. In other words, you are asking for the meaning of a term that you basically made up yourself.

 

time is not an entity. it is a dimension,...

That depends on what "time" means (obviously). Usually, it can either refer to:

- Coordinate time. That's the one you meant. I'd personally prefer saying "it's a coordinate" over "it's a dimension", mainly because making it a coordinate you can assign a quantity to it. That's just personal taste, though.

- Eigentime. That is not a dimension or a coordinate but losely speaking a property of an object (which changes under travelling through spacetime).

 

... it has no speed.

You could well define something like the speed of eigentime via the differential increase of eigentime (of an object) with coordinate time (of the chosen coordinate system). The speed then would be [math]1/\gamma[/math].