Scientists at the Eastern Siberia National Technical University (DSTU) in Russia, in collaboration with international research teams, have developed a concept of “local time” to describe the flow of time in various physical systems.
The research findings were published in the journal Foundations.
Dr. Nadezhda Krasiy, an associate professor in the Department of Advanced Mathematics at DSTU, stated that time itself is indefinable. Humans can only perceive and measure the flow of time.
Humans can only perceive and measure the flow of time. (Illustrative image).
The authors of the study suggest that the initial concept of time emerged among human ancestors around three million years ago through the observation of the regular changes between daylight and darkness (day and night). Later, ancient hominids recognized the lunar phases and the changes in natural phenomena associated with these phases. The first individual to count the days between two full moons created the first measure of time.
According to the theory proposed by the researchers, time is an independent flow that changes according to its own laws and moves along an orbit dependent on those rules. This means that the flow of time can accelerate, slow down, and even change based on conditions.
“In fact, any process studied over a certain period is a combination of the process being directly researched and the accompanying timeline. Furthermore, the concept of time in this process does not coincide with astronomical time and only depends on the progress and changes occurring in this process,” researcher Nadezhda Krasiy explained.
In this project, the experts set themselves the task of connecting the abstract concept of time with specific physical processes. To achieve this, they employed mathematical tools to define “local time” using simple geometric objects. This approach allowed them to compare mathematical models with human experiences of daily time measurement.
During the research, the scientists utilized methods from various fields of mathematics: curved geometry, Riemannian geometry, differential equation theory, probability theory, and random variables.
The experiments demonstrated that in some mathematical models, it is possible to provide a quantitative concept of “local time” that reflects the order of events. This time is determined based on a set of ordered measurements with different quantities taken at the same moment.
As a result, the mathematical definition of “local time” proposed by the scientists not only allows for the description of the characteristics of observable phenomena but also aids in predicting their development.
The research was conducted by scientists from the Eastern Siberia National Technical University (DSTU) and Nova University of Lisbon (Portugal).
