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[return to "Ask HN: What scientific phenomenon do you wish someone would explain better?"]
1. Dutchi+Ik[view] [source] 2020-04-26 21:48:40
>>qqqqqu+(OP)
Why does time slow down/go faster with movement compared to another object.

The well known example that if you travel into space you'd gain let's say 5 years and people on earth 25 in the same time or so.

I just don't get it and I can't find any logic explanation.

For instance: Two twins who came to live exactly at the same moment in the year 2000 and both die on their 75th birthday at the same time. One travels into space, the other stays on earth. Earth-brother dies on earthyear 2075,space-brother dies in earthyear 3050 or so...

I know its Einstein's point but that just doesn't instantly make it correct to me.

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2. joshvm+xm[view] [source] 2020-04-26 22:03:41
>>Dutchi+Ik
There are two effects here. One is special relativistic time dilation, and you can derive these effects with very little mathematics (high school is enough). The Wikipedia page has a simple proof, but it's important to realise that this is a result of the postulate that the speed of light is constant. If you travel at 0.99c and emit a photon, it still travels at c, not 1.99c. It's absolutely not intuitive why this should be the case.

The other effect is that time in a strong gravitational field runs slowly.

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3. Dutchi+Vp[view] [source] 2020-04-26 22:33:33
>>joshvm+xm
I am sorry but I don't get it. I read the formula and get the formula but that doesn't make it logical.

If you move away from a clock, time seems to slow down as your distance to the clock gets larger and the time between a change on the clock reaches you over a longer period. But if you carry a clock in your rocket it will just tick at the same pace as on earth (minus the gravitational impact, which is measured but why does gravity have an impact on time...?)

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4. joshvm+0w[view] [source] 2020-04-26 23:28:28
>>Dutchi+Vp
A core point of relativity is reference frames. From your perspective light in a vacuum always travels at c. The problem is that by special relativity, an observer moving at some speed relative to you will also see light traveling at c. This is a simple idea, but it causes a lot of very unintuitive effects. If we're being pedantic, relativity is very logical mathematically, but it's conceptually difficult because it flies in the face of how you think the world works.

Have a look at the simple inference example here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation

Time doesn't necessarily slow down the further away you get from a clock. If you and a clock are both stationary (ie you're in the same inertial frame), you will observe it ticking in "normal" time, albeit delayed due to the distance. If the clock is moving relative to you however, you will measure its ticks to be slightly slower.

You may be confusing general relativistic effects which are distance dependent (as gravity weakens the further away you get).

If you carry a clock in your rocket, you will (in the rocket) measure it to tick once a second. When you get back to Earth, you'll find that it's lagged behind a clock that was started at the same time but was left on Earth.

Maybe have a look at simple wiki too https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_relativity though it doesn't actually derive the Lorentz transforms unfortunately.

Ignore the gravity bit for now, that's general relativity and it's more complicated to explain.

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