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“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.” – Ford
Prefect
The nature of time is a classically
contested concept. Some argue that it is a physical feature that can be
measured and observed (and as we will see later,
distorted)[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/newton-stm/], while others have
argued that it is merely a psychological construct to describe the order of
events [http://www-philosophy.ucdavis.edu/mattey/kant/TIMELEC.HTM]. The
International Bureau of Weights and Measures defines the unit of time, the
second as the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation
corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the
ground state of the caesium 133 atom. [The second is the duration of 9
192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition
between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133
atom.]. Which while exceedingly accurate, does not
satisfactorily explain what the “duration” represents. However, the
fact that various physical events (such as the transition in caesium) take a
specific amount of time to occur suggests that time is a property beyond
human perception. It is in fact perhaps best defined as rather than a unique
construct, one of the four dimensions of space-time. Much as movement can be
made and a certain amount of space is required in the x, y or z directions,
so movement and duration is necessary in the t direction.[ John
D. Barrow, 2002. The Constants of Nature]
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