Question

In special relativity physicists talk about time dilation, saying that as an object moves faster relative to another that its "clock" moves slower and therefore time slows down. Could it be fair to say that time doesn't actually slow down, but all matter and energy reactions slow down and therefore "time" itself moves unchanged, but all physical processes slow down? And, if so, could all physical processes be forced to slow down and seem time dilated because as energy goes into momentum it is taken away from physical processes and must slow down compared to a ref. frame at a lower velocity?

Answer 1

Hoot! You just asked your first question! Hang tight while I find people to answer it for you. You can thank people who give you good answers by clicking the 'Good Answer' button on the right!

Answer 2

I have proof of how the time measured by two differently moving observers is different, given that the speed of light is constant in all frames...But none for slowing down all processes

Answer 3

Good point there itsdavedude, come to think of it you might be right in a peculiar way..but then again there is the proof of the astronaunt...i myself dont know how to answer such a question...the idea of "what could be" drew me to contribute to the discussion. i guess its an unfinshed research

Answer 4

First, you may have to rephrase your initial question. You are referring to time as an absolute, independent reference which has it's own "speed." Relativistically speaking, time is not independent of other references. In fact, the second half of your question only has meaning if time is an independent entity (and you need a frame to refer to a specific time, otherwise time is only relative). So, physical processes could only "slow down" relative to time in some arbitrary reference frame. In the end I think you may just be dealing with the issue in your second question without the aid of your first presumption. The thought may have somewhere to go, though...