Time Dilation

The Theory of Relativity

The theory of relativity is divided into two categories

1. General Relativity
Albert Einstein, in his theory of special relativity, determined that the laws of
physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and he showed that the speed of
light within a vacuum is the same no matter the speed at which an observer travel

Einstein's Relativity said it is possible to stop time. Is that true and, if it is, how do
you do it and what do you experience when time stops?" The simple answer is, "Yes, it
is possible to stop time. All you need to do is travel at light speed."

2. Special Relativity
Special relativity is limited to objects that are moving with respect to inertial
frames of reference i.e., in a state of uniform motion with respect to one another such
that one cannot, by purely mechanical experiments, distinguish one from the other.
Beginning with the behaviour of light (and all other electromagnetic radiation), the theory
of special relativity draws conclusions that are contrary to everyday experience but fully
confirmed by experiments that examine subatomic particles at high speeds or measure
small changes between clocks traveling at different speeds. Special relativity revealed
that the speed of light is a limit that can be approached but not reached by any material
object. It is the origin of the most famous equation in science, E = mc2, which expresses the
fact that mass and energy are the same physical entity and can be changed into each
other.

When traveling  at speeds near the speed of light  special relativity

says that time is dilated. Thus, relative to another inertial frame (where perhaps
a stationary twin sits) time for the moving twin is slowing down. Hence the
stationary twin is aging faster.

Time Dilation Definition

A slowing of time in accordance with the theory of relativity that occurs in a
system in motion relative to an outside observer and that becomes apparent especially as
the speed of the system approaches that of light is called also as time dilatation
Relative Velocity Time Dilation
The time dilation seen due to relative velocity stems from special relativity. If two
observers, Janet and Jim, are moving in opposite directions and as they pass by each other
they note that the other person's watch is ticking slower than their own. If Judy were running
alongside Janet at the same speed in the same direction, their watches would be ticking at
the same rate, while Jim, going in the opposite direction, sees both of them having slower-
ticking watches. Time seems to pass slower for the person being observed than for the
observer.

Gravitational Time Dilation

Time dilation due to being at different distances from a gravitational mass is
described in the general theory of relativity. The closer you are to a gravitational mass, the
slower your clock seems to be ticking to an observer farther from the mass. When a
spaceship nears a black hole of extreme mass, observers see time slowing to a crawl for
them.

These two forms of time dilation combine for a satellite orbiting a planet. On the
one hand, their relative velocity to observers on the ground slows time for the satellite. But
the farther distance from the planet means time goes faster on the satellite than on the
surface of the planet. These effects may cancel each other, but also can mean a lower
satellite has slower-running clocks relative to the surface while higher-orbiting satellites have
clocks running faster relative to the surface.

Time Dilation Examples

The effects of time dilation are used often in science fiction stories, dating back to
at least the 1930s. One of the earliest and most well-known thought experiments to feature
time dilation is the famous Twin Paradox, which demonstrates the curious effects of time
dilation at its most extreme.

Time dilation becomes most apparent when one of the objects is moving at nearly
the speed of light, but it manifests at even slower speeds. Here are just a few ways we know
time dilation actually takes place:

 Clocks in airplanes click at different rates from clocks on the ground.

 Putting a clock on a mountain (thus elevating it, but keeping it stationary relative to
the ground-based clock) results in slightly different rates.
 The Global Positioning System (GPS) has to adjust for time dilation. Ground-based
devices have to communicate with satellites. To work, they have to be programmed
to compensate for the time differences based on their speeds and gravitational
influences.
 Certain unstable particles exist for a very brief period of time before decaying, but
scientists can observe them as lasting longer because they are moving so fast that
time dilation means the time that the particles "experience" before decaying is
 different from the time experienced in the at-rest laboratory that is doing the
observations.
 In 2014, a research team announced the most precise experimental confirmation of
this effect yet devised, as described in a Scientific American article. They used a
particle accelerator to confirm that time moves slower for a moving clock than for a
stationary one.

Time goes Slow Fast we move

It depends on our position and speed, time can appear to move faster or slower to us
relative to others in a different part of space-time. And for astronauts on the International
Space Station, that means they get to age just a tiny bit slower than people on Earth. That's
because of time-dilation effects.

Time Dilation Graph

Uses of Time Dilation

In the future when we have developed propulsion systems which can propel space
ships at much larger velocities than currently, we will be able to use this to allow humans to
travel through time. The advantage this will bring is making interplanetary travel possible on
human time scales.

Currently it would take hundreds to thousands of years to reach the nearest stars. If and
when we achieve much faster space ships it brings these times down to times on a human
time scale; however, under classical mechanics, it would still take many a good proportion of
a human lifetime to get there and back. Whilst from Earth it would still appear that the
astronauts took tens of years for their journey from the astronaut’s point of view much less
time will have passed.

The advantages of this is that the psychological and physiological stresses of long space
journeys placed on the astronauts will be significantly reduced. For example, a speed of 0.9c
will reduce travelling time by just over a half and a speed of 0.95c will reduce the time taken
by the astronauts to 3/10 of the time we observe on earth.

when doing the calculations one can ever look at it from an observer on the Earth point of
view where the astronauts appear to have experienced less time than the observer due to
time dilation or from the astronaut’s point of view where length contraction shortens the
distance to the planet meaning it simply takes less time to get there, either way the result is
the same.
Time Machines
time dilation does allow you to travel in time one could therefore build a ‘time machine.”
However, that machine would only be able to travel forward in time and not backwards in
time. If you took a journey into the future you would be unable to return.

Therefore, one could go into the future and do the obvious things which spring to a lot of
people’s minds such as look at what the lottery results were or who wins the grand national
but you would be unable to go back and capitalise on that information. Such a machine
would be a double-edged sword for people who wanted to try and use information from the
future for personal gain.

Time Dilation Formula

Special relativity states that time can pass at different rates in different
reference frames. The time depends on the velocity of one reference frame relative to
another. In one reference frame, two events (for example, two ticks of a clock) will occur at
the same position. In this reference frame, the time between the events is called one-
position time or proper time, and is labelled Δt0. In another reference frame, an observer will
see the two events happen in different positions. In the observer's reference frame, the time
between events is called two-position time or observer time, and is labelled Δt. The observer
time is always larger than the proper time. This effect is called time dilation. Both Δt0 and Δt
are measured in seconds (s)
Δt = the observer time, or two-position time (s)
Δt0 = the proper time, or one-position time (s)
v = velocity (m/s)
c = speed of light (3.0 x 108 m/s)
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Example problem of time dilation
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1. Tanya boards a spaceship, and flies past Earth at 0.800 times the speed of light. Her
twin sister, Tara, stays on Earth. At the instant Tanya's ship passes Earth, they both
start timers. Tanya watches her timer, and after she sees 60.0 seconds have passed,
she stops it. At that instant, how much time would Tara's timer say has passed?
Answer:

The two events to consider are the starting and stopping of Tanya's timer. In Tanya's
reference frame, these two events happen in the same position. That means that Tanya's
time aboard the spaceship is the proper (one-position) time, and the time difference aboard
the spaceship is Δt0. The starting and stopping of Tanya's timer happens in two positions in
Tara's reference frame, so the time difference on Earth is the observer (two-position) time,
Δt. The amount of time that passes in Tara's reference frame can be found using the formula
of time dilation.
Therefore, When Tanya is in a reference frame moving at 0.800c relative to Tara's reference
frame, and Tanya observes that 60.0 s pass, her sister Tara will observe that 100 s have
passed.

2. Cosmic rays colliding with Earth's upper atmosphere produce high-energy particles called
muons. An observer detects that a muon has been created, and observes that it reaches the
surface of the Earth 20.0 x 10-6 seconds later. The observer also determines that the muon
was moving at 2.97 x 108 m/s. In the muon's reference frame, how much time passed
between its creation and reaching the surface of the Earth?

Answer:
The two events to consider are the creation of the muon, and it reaching the surface
of Earth. In the muon's reference frame, these two events happen in the same
position. In the observer's reference frame, these two events happen in different
positions. That means the muon's time is the proper (one-position) time, Δt0. The
Earth-based observer's time is Δt. The observer's time is known, and so the amount
of time that passes in the muon's reference frame can be found by rearranging the
time dilation formula

Therefore,In the muon's reference frame, approximately 2.82 x 10-6 seconds pass

between when the muon is created and when it reaches the Earth's surface.

2. Calculate the relativistic time, if T0 = 5 years, v = 0.95c?

Answer:
Given parameters are,
T0T0 = 5 years and v = 0.95c 
 Formula for time dilation is,

3. Find out the time dilation if T0 = 10 years and v = 0.5c?

Answer:
4. Tau leptons are observed to have an average half-life of Δt1 in the frame S1in which
the leptons are at rest. In an inertial frame S2, which is moving at a speed v12 relative
to S1, the leptons are observed to have an average half-life of Δt2. In another inertial
reference frame S3, which is moving at a speed v13 relative to S1 and v23 relative to S2,
the leptons have an observed half-life of Δt3. Which of the following is a correct
relationship among two of the half-lives, Δt1, Δt2, and Δt3?
A.

B. 

C. 

D.  E. 
Answer: