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I'd like to ask a question if I may about the relativity. When travelling at the speed of light(which is impossible for particles with masses) or very close to it, would it be me, myself, seeing my watch run slower, or would it be an observer seeing it?

Also, according to Twin Paradox, the twin who stays in the earth ages more. I don't know how this is possible. An observer would see my watch tick slower, not me?

Qmechanic
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  • Your own time (the time you age in and watch your clock in) is called "proper time" and never changes. Your watch will tick slower according to an external observer but your time really is going slower so that means your brain and everything else that you'd use to measure the time is going slower too. To you it looks like the same normal speed of time you're used to (because it is). – Brandon Enright Nov 20 '13 at 21:20
  • Are you wearing your watch? If so, its speed is zero meters-per-second with respect to your eyes, and so the clock in your watch and the "clock" in your head will tick at the same rate. – David H Nov 20 '13 at 21:21
  • My watch also travels with me.

    Brandon Enright, how's it then when I'm outer-space, and travelling in a rocket, I don't age as much as my twin does?

     –  Nov 20 '13 at 21:35
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    possible duplicate of Time dilation as an observer in special relativity – Ali Nov 20 '13 at 21:50

2 Answers2

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Think about this

In your brain there is a clock too. In other words, everything has a clock in itself. The clock in this meaning is the electron and molecule activity. Both gear and battery is electron and molecule activity. And inside your brain is another kind of electron and molecule activity

Time dilation is about the reality that all electron and molecule activity of everything will decrease speed when that thing move. So when you move with your watch. Your brain activity will slower in the same rate as your watch. And you will not notice that your watch are slower

But if someone stay still and observe your watch. Electron and molecule activity of that person is in constant rate. So they will notice that your watch is slower than normal

The cause is speed of light. Electron and molecule activity take place around atom. Electron move between atom cannot move faster than speed of light. So when you move. The speed of electron that jump between atom need to be slower to keep its raw speed under speed of light

And about twin paradox

Imagine that you cell multiply and dead everyday is the biochemical reaction, and it is another kind of electron and molecule activity. So yes, the aging process is slower by time dilation too

Thaina
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  • Hi Thaina. "all electron and molecule activity of everything will decrease speed", can you provide a source? Because it's the first time I've read such a thing and thus it really makes me wonder whether it's 100% true. –  Nov 21 '13 at 09:38
  • I just use "electron and molecule activity" in place of things happen. It is declared in Time Dilation that "Everything Slow Down" so "electron and molecule activity" is included in "things" that was slow down by Time Dilation. But with this word it easier to imagine right? – Thaina Nov 21 '13 at 19:28
  • And by deeper meaning. The most basic form of activity in our universe is particle interaction. Electron push another electron with electromagnetic particle in mechanical and chemical world. Every kind of thing happen in our universe can break down tobe particle interaction in smallest scale. And because it is particle interaction, it has only constant speed of light. So when things move its internal particle interaction would decreasing rate – Thaina Nov 21 '13 at 21:18
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Time dilation (and also length contraction) always occurs with respect to an observer in a different frame of reference. You, in your own inertial frame, will not notice any difference. However, when you compare your measurement to that of an external observer, you will see a discrepancy in the results. If you enter a spaceship and go on a journey through the solar system at a very high velocity, and take a watch with you, and then return to your homebase (where you have left another watch), you will see that the watch you took with you has registered less ticks than the one you left back home. The equivalent statement is that less time has passed for you.

Regarding the twin paradox: naively, one should ask the question as to why there is a different outcome in the measurement of time for both systems, since one could say that if the twin in the spaceship moves relative to earth, earth also moves relative to the spaceship. However, this is not the whole story: the spaceship, in order to make its journey to outer space and back home has to accelerate, and this breaks the symmetry between the systems.

Frederic Brünner
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  • And why is that exactly? Why would I see my watch tick fewer times? I mean, it'd be an observer seeing it. It's not what exactly happens to my watch? –  Nov 20 '13 at 21:38
  • As I wrote, you will not notice any difference in your own frame of reference - comparison to an external observer will show that the rates differ. – Frederic Brünner Nov 20 '13 at 21:46
  • Thanks Frederic. I, however, still think that the idea is rather ungraspable. –  Nov 20 '13 at 21:57
  • Do you mean that it is unintuitive? Or do you have a problem with the explanation itself? – Frederic Brünner Nov 20 '13 at 21:59
  • Unintutive. No probs with your explanation. Thanks once again! –  Nov 20 '13 at 22:03