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bernhard.rothenstein
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are clocks, displaying a negatve time, compatible with special relativity?
thanks
thanks
bernhard.rothenstein said:are clocks, displaying a negatve time, compatible with special relativity?
thanks
bernhard.rothenstein said:are clocks, displaying a negatve time, compatible with special relativity?
thanks
Thanks Petepmb_phy said:Bernhard, its good to see you posting again. How have you been?
Negative numbers often represent quantities that refer to prior quantities. I.e. a negative value of height merely represents a distance from a surface which is below ground level. A negative time would merely represent a time before the event where you set your clock to read zero. So if you set you clock to read t = 0 at 1:00am then 12:30am would have a negative value of the time. This is important to understand given the nature of non-simultaneity since if the clocks are synchronized in S then the clocks in S' which are moving relative to S will not be synchronized. The Lorentz transformation of events will then give negative values of time. One must know how to interpret these values.
Best wishes
Pete
bernhard.rothenstein said:Thanks Pete
Consider please the clocks C(0) and C(x) and a source of light S(0) at rest in the I frame.
When C(0) reads t(e) S(0) emits a synchronizing light signal in the positive direction of the OX axis. It arrives at the location of clock C(x) when it reads t(E). Equation
t(E)=t(e)+x/c (1)
Does it hold for negative and positive values of t(e)? With what consequences?
Negative clock readings refer to the measurement of time using a clock that is running in the opposite direction of the standard direction of time. In other words, the clock is counting down instead of up. This concept is compatible with relativity because according to the theory of relativity, time is relative and can be measured differently depending on the observer's frame of reference.
Negative clock readings challenge our traditional understanding of time as a linear concept that always moves forward. It introduces the idea that time can also move backwards or be measured in a non-linear way. This can have implications for our understanding of causality and the concept of "cause and effect."
Yes, negative clock readings have been observed and recorded in experiments involving extremely fast-moving particles and in studies of gravitational time dilation. However, in our everyday lives, we do not encounter negative clock readings as our perception of time is based on our own frame of reference.
The theory of special relativity states that the laws of physics are the same for all observers in uniform motion. This means that an observer measuring time using a clock moving in the opposite direction would still experience the same physical laws and phenomena. Negative clock readings are a result of this principle and are consistent with the theory of special relativity.
Negative clock readings have been used in experiments to test the principles of relativity and in the development of atomic clocks, which are used for precise timekeeping in scientific research and navigation. They also have implications for the study of black holes and other extreme phenomena where the laws of physics may be different from what we experience on Earth.