Time as Change

TL;DR

This paper explores the philosophical concept of time as change, arguing that time is fundamentally linked to change rather than substance, and shows how this view aligns with principles of Special Relativity and imposes limits on clock synchronization precision.

Contribution

It presents a philosophical perspective on time as change, connecting Aristotle's ideas to the principles of Special Relativity and deriving a fundamental synchronization limit.

Findings

Time as change aligns with Special Relativity principles.

Clock synchronization precision limit estimated around 10^{-22} seconds.

Philosophical approach offers new insights into the nature of time.

Abstract

According to Aristotle "time is the number of change with respect to the before and after". That's certainly a vague concept, but at the same time it's both simple and satisfying from a philosophical point of view: things do not change along time, but they do change and the measurement of such changes is what we call time. This deprives time of any attribute of substantiality, meanwhile depriving it of all problems in defining the properties of time as a substance. With the rise of Classical Mechanics, Aristotle's view is abandoned and Newton's concept of "true" and absolute time imposes itself; time flows independently on changes of any kind. Relativity will then radically modify our concept of time, but won't actually modify the fundamental idea: things keep changing along time -- changes do not make time. This work will argue Aristotle's thesis, showing how such an approach automatically leads to the principles of Special Relativity. An interesting consequence and, at least virtually, measurable will also be highlighted: the fact that synchronizing two clocks with a precision greater than a certain scale is impossible, estimating such scale around $10^{-22}$s.