JML wrote:
You're perfectly right on all the time zones differences. Especially since Einstein told us there's nothing like absolute time
there is actually more merit to this then Einstein initially intended. I once had a discussion with my Quantum Mechenics teacher who also lectured us in general relativity. I suggested to him that time actually doesn't 'exist' at all on a more abstract level but that its solely a 'by product' of a certain state that energy can take, being: 'mass'.
According to einsteins special relativity each 'object with mass' has its own relative clock in respect to other masses. The relative speed this clock ticks with in regard to other clocks depends on its velocity: the faster an object travels in respect to another object, the slower its clock will tick (in respect to that other object) aka the time dilitation effect.
Now the interesting part is that as your speed gets closer to the speed of light your actual mass increases, going to an asymptoot which lies on the c (speed of light) velocity. Hence no object can EVER reach that velocity as it would require infinitive enerrgy to accomplish.
However 'light' ALWAYS travels with the speed of light (kind of a 'duh' here) and can never travel any slower. Light thus also does not have any mass. Its internal clock ticks with 0 speed or as my Quantum teacher said: 'time is not defined for light' My initial question was how 'light' would perceive the universe as on its path it would alway be everywhere at the same time on its trajectory. To which he replied that to 'perceive you require a conscious and to have a conscious you require mass, hence its an invalid question' .
This got me thinking... Time is undefined for light and light is energy. We also know the famous equation e=mc2 (which is actually a bit more complex but serve its purpose here). This forumal basically states that e(energy) =(equals) m(donkey) * some constant. In math constants can be negated so it basically sais: mass == energy. In other words mass is a form or state which energy can be in. Other forms are heat, kinetic, acceleration, applied force etc.
So mass is a form of energy, if energy takes its more abstract form e.g. light then time is undefined, in other words it does not exist.
To that he eventually agreed.