The article tells about the definition of time in various fields of science, what it is and how it can be relative.
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It is generally accepted that our ancient ancestors resembled us only in appearance, and even then very remotely. And that they acquired all the human qualities, judgments and psychology familiar to us only with the advent of the species Homo sapiens. But such reasoning is debatable. For example, scientists have found graves of our humanoid ancestors several million years old, and it has been found that even flowers were brought to the burial places!
Despite the improbability of the fact, it is true. Near the graves, traces of accumulations of plant pollen were found, which grew in completely different places. This means that our ancestors already had some ideas about the afterlife. Perhaps it is abstract thinking and imagination that are the line between animal and human.
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Determining time can be attributed to a number of things and disciplines, such as physics, psychology, philosophy, literature and art. In the classical sense, this is a value determined by the duration of some process: whether it is the decaya radioactive element in an atomic clock or the movement of a planet around its axis - a change of day. In the article we will analyze each of them in detail. Let's start with the simplest.
Metrological
In metrology, the determination of time is made according to three parameters. Along the coordinate axis, when the definition occurs on some scale or takes its reading depending on certain data. For example, well-known calendars, watches, chronometers, local and universal time.
The second type is relative. In this case, the measurement occurs between the moments of any two events. For example, between waking up in the morning and going to bed.
Well, the third and last parameter is subjective. It is measured by several different-frequency processes. To put it simply, this is exactly the case when, depending on the situation, time for a person lasts at different speeds, subjectively for him.
These are the most common examples of such a complex concept. But can you define time? After all, this is one of the universal properties of matter along with space.
Explanatory Dictionaries
If you resort to the help of dictionaries, you can see that each author and compiler uses, though close to others, but his own explanation of what time is. For example, Ozhegov gave the following definition to this: "An interval of one or another duration in which something happens, a successive change of hours, days, years." This is the literary definition of the word "time".
Philosophy
In this science, everything is somewhat more complicated, and each philosopher answers the question of what time is in his own way. But fortunately, there is a generally accepted definition. According to the encyclopedia, time in philosophy is an irreversible course of events that moves from the past through the present and tends to the future.
This problem was asked by ancient scientists, and disputes do not subside to this day, after several thousand years. And one of the first to think about this was the well-known Plato.
According to his writings and ideas, time in philosophy is (the definition was given to them like this) "a moving likeness of eternity." A little later, his ideas were developed and supplemented by the no less wise Aristotle, who called time a “measure of movement.”
Psychology
In psychology, everything is somewhat simpler. And the passage of time or its other manifestations are measured exclusively by the observer. Simply put, as already mentioned, time passes differently for everyone. When we are irritated, tired, or engaged in monotonous unloved work, it drags on much more slowly than usual, as if on purpose. And vice versa - when the mood is excellent and nothing disturbs, you are surprised to notice how imperceptibly it flies.
So the saying “lovers don’t watch the clock” has a very scientific justification - in this state, the concentration of endorphin (hormone of happiness) in the blood increases significantly, and time passes faster.
What is time in physics? Definition
If we take the laws of classical physics as a basis, then this is a continuous quantity that is not determined by anything. And for convenience in life, a certain sequence of events is taken as the basis for its measurement, for example, the periods of rotation of the Earth around its axis, the Sun, or the operation of a clock mechanism.
But the most interesting thing begins if we take a closer look at relativistic physics. According to her, time tends to slow down or speed up, and this is not fantasy: we encounter similar phenomena every day in everyday life, but they are so scanty that we do not notice.
To put it simply, time can slow down and speed up under the influence of gravity. For example, on the ground floor of a skyscraper and on the top floor, the clock will run at different speeds, but under normal conditions, this cannot be noticed, the difference will be so small. But if you bring them to a black hole, then their course will be slower compared to those left on Earth.
Time. Literary definition
If we take the work as a basis, then this is a prerequisite for the plot deployment. As in reality, in fiction it develops from the past into the future. But sometimes special tricks are used, such as inserts from the past of the hero or heroes.
