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The equation of time describes the discrepancy between two kinds of solar time. The word equation is used in the medieval sense of "reconciliation of a difference". The two times that differ are the apparent solar time , which directly tracks the diurnal motion of the Sun , and mean solar time , which tracks a theoretical mean Sun with uniform ...
Proper time. In relativity, proper time (from Latin, meaning own time) along a timelike world line is defined as the time as measured by a clock following that line. The proper time interval between two events on a world line is the change in proper time, which is independent of coordinates, and is a Lorentz scalar. [1]
In the International System of Units (SI), the unit of time is the second (symbol: ). It is a SI base unit, and has been defined since 1967 as "the duration of 9,192,631,770 [cycles] of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium 133 atom". [12]
Time dilation. Time dilation is the difference in elapsed time as measured by two clocks, either because of a relative velocity between them ( special relativity ), or a difference in gravitational potential between their locations ( general relativity ). When unspecified, "time dilation" usually refers to the effect due to velocity.
Mean time between failures ( MTBF) is the predicted elapsed time between inherent failures of a mechanical or electronic system during normal system operation. MTBF can be calculated as the arithmetic mean (average) time between failures of a system. The term is used for repairable systems while mean time to failure ( MTTF) denotes the expected ...
The synodic period is the amount of time that it takes for an object to reappear at the same point in relation to two or more other objects. In common usage, these two objects are typically Earth and the Sun. The time between two successive oppositions or two successive conjunctions is also equal to the synodic period. For celestial bodies in ...
v. t. e. Gravitational time dilation is a form of time dilation, an actual difference of elapsed time between two events, as measured by observers situated at varying distances from a gravitating mass. The lower the gravitational potential (the closer the clock is to the source of gravitation), the slower time passes, speeding up as the ...
The fundamental reason for merging space and time into spacetime is that space and time are separately not invariant, which is to say that, under the proper conditions, different observers will disagree on the length of time between two events (because of time dilation) or the distance between the two events (because of length contraction).