I understand some of it, but a lot of it confuses me.
Any clarification would be very helpful.
thank you.
Any clarification would be very helpful.
thank you.
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Simply stated, time on a moving object slows down relative to the non-moving object that's used as the reference for how fast the object is moving. Typically the reference frame is the Earth and we say speeds are relative to it. So when we say a plane is flying 500 mph, we mean that speed relative to the ground on Earth.
So, according to the special theory of relativity, time on that airplane is passing slower than, say, your twin's time waiting and playing the slot machines at the terminal in Las Vegas. So your Timex may show the trip to LAS took 4 hrs, but the very precise Rolex on your twin's wrist will show 4 hrs + some nano seconds (1E-9 seconds) had passed when you hop off the plane.
So when you hop off the plane, your twin will be some nano seconds older than you.
This, by the way, really happens when you fly. Your time on the plane goes by slower than your buddy's time at the terminal. So when you hop off it will be into your buddy's present which is a few nano seconds into your future. This is how we can time travel into the future.
A nano second is so very short that no one ever notices this slight time discrepancy, but it has been measured using two atomic clocks that started out in sync. And at the end of the flight, the one on the plane was always slower than the one on the ground.
If that plane is turned into a star ship that can go, say, 1/4 light speed, after going out and back for a year according to the ship's clock, the crew would land at Cape Canaveral 11 days into their future. Or another way to say this, their calendar on the ship's bulkhead would be 11 days behind the one hanging up in the flight control office at Cape Canaveral.
Slow time can also be generated by a gravity field according the the general theory of relativity. The stronger the field, the slower the relative rate of time. So when that plane is flying, its slower time due to speed is partially offset by the faster time it would have by being farther away from the source of gravity, Earth, than your twin. In the experiments, the slowness of time due to speed more than offsets the faster time due to lighter gravity at altitude.
So, according to the special theory of relativity, time on that airplane is passing slower than, say, your twin's time waiting and playing the slot machines at the terminal in Las Vegas. So your Timex may show the trip to LAS took 4 hrs, but the very precise Rolex on your twin's wrist will show 4 hrs + some nano seconds (1E-9 seconds) had passed when you hop off the plane.
So when you hop off the plane, your twin will be some nano seconds older than you.
This, by the way, really happens when you fly. Your time on the plane goes by slower than your buddy's time at the terminal. So when you hop off it will be into your buddy's present which is a few nano seconds into your future. This is how we can time travel into the future.
A nano second is so very short that no one ever notices this slight time discrepancy, but it has been measured using two atomic clocks that started out in sync. And at the end of the flight, the one on the plane was always slower than the one on the ground.
If that plane is turned into a star ship that can go, say, 1/4 light speed, after going out and back for a year according to the ship's clock, the crew would land at Cape Canaveral 11 days into their future. Or another way to say this, their calendar on the ship's bulkhead would be 11 days behind the one hanging up in the flight control office at Cape Canaveral.
Slow time can also be generated by a gravity field according the the general theory of relativity. The stronger the field, the slower the relative rate of time. So when that plane is flying, its slower time due to speed is partially offset by the faster time it would have by being farther away from the source of gravity, Earth, than your twin. In the experiments, the slowness of time due to speed more than offsets the faster time due to lighter gravity at altitude.