Chapter 1 - What is Time? | 1 |
The Nature of Time | 2 |
Direction of Time | 2 |
Time Never Stops | 2 |
Speed of Time | 3 |
Time Appears to be Continuous | 3 |
Quantum Time: Time May be Discrete | 3 |
Does Time Simply Exist, or is it Caused by Something? | 4 |
Time Seems Infinite | 5 |
Does Time Have a Beginning or End? | 5 |
Chapter 2 – How do we measure time? | 7 |
The History of Measuring Time | 7 |
Why 60 Seconds? Why 60 Minutes? Why 24 Hours? | 9 |
How Scientists Define Time | 10 |
Calendars | 11 |
Leap Seconds | 12 |
Time of Day | 13 |
Before Mechanical Clocks Were Invented | 13 |
Mechanical Clocks | 20 |
Pendulum Clocks: A Giant Leap | 20 |
Spring-Driven Clocks: Time Becomes Portable | 21 |
Electric Clocks: Powering Time | 21 |
Quartz Clocks: a Crystal Revolution | 21 |
Atomic Clocks: the Master Timekeepers | 21 |
Chapter 3 – Time Gets Weirder | 22 |
Time is Relative | 22 |
The Hafele–Keating Experiment (1971) | 23 |
Gravity and Time: Clocks on Mountains | 23 |
Watching Muons | 24 |
Because Time is Relative | 24 |
How GPS works | 26 |
Time Can Bend and Stretch | 29 |
Time Bends When You Move Very Fast | 30 |
What Does It Mean for Time to Stretch? | 30 |
Why Does Time Stretch at High Speeds? | 31 |
Time Bends When Gravity is Strong | 32 |
Conclusion | 33 |
Is Time Just Part of a Simulation? | 33 |
Time Can Not be Undone | 34 |
Entropy and the Arrow of Time | 35 |
New Scientific Theories About Reversing Time | 35 |
Cause and Effect are Linked to Time | 36 |
What Is Cause and Effect? | 37 |
Why Time Matters for Cause and Effect | 37 |
What Happens in the Strange World of Quantum Physics? | 37 |
Conclusion | 38 |
Cyclical time | 38 |
Ancient Beliefs About Cyclical Time | 38 |
Natural Examples of Cyclical Time | 39 |
Modern Scientific Ideas About Cyclical Time | 39 |
Conclusion | 40 |
Block Time: Is the Universe Frozen? | 40 |
How Precise Clocks May Warp Time | 41 |
Imaginary Time | 42 |
How Is Imaginary Time Different? | 43 |
Why Do Scientists Use Imaginary Time? | 43 |
Is Imaginary Time Real? | 43 |
Conclusion | 44 |
Is Time Real? | 44 |
Chapter 4 – Perception of Time | 45 |
How Does the Brain Measure Time? | 45 |
Why Does Time Feel Different Sometimes? | 46 |
How Scientists Study Time Perception | 47 |
Special Tricks of the Mind | 47 |
Conclusion | 48 |
Chapter 5 – Time travel | 48 |
cientific Thought on Time Travel | 48 |
Cosmic Strings: Threads of the Early Universe | 50 |
Movies That Illustrate Time Travel | 51 |
Back to the Future (1985): | 51 |
Interstellar (2014): | 52 |
The Adam Project (2022): | 53 |
The Time Travel Paradox | 53 |
Time Travel by Telescope | 54 |
Conclusion | 54 |
Chapter 6 – Weird Thoughts About Time | 55 |
Does the Future Already Exist? | 55 |
Living in Space-Time. | 55 |
What if We Lived in Space Without Time? | 56 |
What if We Lived in Time Without Space? | 56 |
What if We Lived With Neither Space nor Time? | 57 |
Learning Activities | 58 |
Thought Experiments | 58 |
Twin Time Activity | 58 |
Block Time Activity | 60 |
No Space, No Time Activity | 61 |
Backward Time Activity | 62 |
Paused Time Activity | 64 |
Discrete Time Activity | 67 |
Simple Experiments | 68 |
Stick Clock Activity | 68 |
Sundial Activity | 70 |
Hour Glass Activity | 71 |
Candle Clock Activity | 73 |
Water Clock Activity | 75 |
Explore Your Perception of Time | 77 |
Creative Activities | 78 |
Draw Time | 78 |
Invent a New Clock | 78 |
Time Capsule | 78 |
Simulated Day | 78 |
Appendix | 79 |
Measurement of Time | 79 |
Quotes About Time | 82 |
Riddles About Time | 84 |
Jokes About Time | 85 |
Glossary | 87 |