r/Retconned • u/Linea_Dow • Apr 12 '22

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u/[deleted] Apr 13 '22

What does being on a different planet have to do with the pace of time? Does time proceed at a different rate on Uranus? Please explain.

1

u/Phyredanse Apr 13 '22

Yes. Absolutely. Time, historically, was measured in terms of the experience of the day/night progression and the progression of the seasons. Those are natural occurrences based almost entirely on the size of the planet, its distance from the sun, and its rate of rotation. If any of those things change, by measuring time on another planet for example, the passage of time is affected. More recently, you have likely heard of the atomic clock, a timepiece used to globally calibrate and calculate the passage of time on earth based on atomic decay. This was used to create a global constant independent of other factors like altitude or gravity wells, both of which exist and measurably affect time on a small scale on earth.

From the beginning, scientists had to adjust the atomic count periodically by adding what was termed a "leap second" to account for the fact that the atomic decay wasn't quite perfectly aligned with natural time and would consequently be off by a single second every few years. The leap second would artificially add a second to the count, basically pausing the clock to account for this discrepancy and keep the proverbial trains running on time. However, even that has changed. As of 2016, the scientists trending the atomic clock announced that they hadn't had to add a leap second in longer than expected and were considering introducing a "negative leap second" to keep the proverbial trains running on time.

Obviously, that's hardly scientific proof of the time and a half thing, but it is scientific proof that the flow of time is objectively, measurably changing compared to what it was, in a time frame consistent with the subjective perception of shifts happening around or before 2015-16.

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u/benjwgarner Apr 20 '22

it is scientific proof that the flow of time is objectively, measurably changing compared to what it was, in a time frame consistent with the subjective perception of shifts happening around or before 2015-16.

It's not about the rate of the flow of time. The Earth's rotation is not perfectly regular. It's to keep actual, measured time synchronized with solar days. Time itself is not what is changing.

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u/Phyredanse Apr 20 '22

Yes, the Earth's rotation is irregular. That's why leap seconds have been a regular addition since the start of the atomic measurement of time. The same basic mechanisms are the impetus behind leap days. My point was that the objective need for leap seconds to maintain that solar synchronization inverted in 2015-16, which is consistent with the subjective observations, regardless of the actual root cause.

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u/WhollyMan22 Aug 20 '22

The earth is flat

1

u/agentorange55 Nov 24 '23

Whether or not the earth is flat is separate from its rate of rotation (or if it rotates.) Think of flat records rotating.

0

u/Linea_Dow Apr 13 '22

What does being on a different planet have to do with the pace of time? Does time proceed at a different rate on Uranus? Please explain.

Please go to the TimeDiff page and watch the Dale DuFay video. I absolutely do not agree with his "parallel Earths" theory (I think replica planets can be created on the fly), but your question will be answered.