phil_tero wrote:
But what is time? how do we define it? how do we measure it? and if it
is a "physical" entity can it be manipulated at all?
Time is what a clock measures.
That seems to me to be a fair definition, but it could be better. More
general. So what do you think of:
Time is the analysis of change.
In that case, instead of time being limited only to the position of
hands on a clock, we can say there is time in the motion of the sun
from horizon to horizon, or in radioactive decay, or any physical
process.
That definition also answers your second question, we measure it by
making judgements based on the state of a clock or some other
comparable system.
That implies in someways that time isn't a physical entity, but a
phenomonal and epistemological one, a product of our conscious
observations and systems of measurement. Whether that means it may be
manipulated or not really depends on what you mean by manipulated, I
suppose.
.
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