3 ms·
Insofar as you can only really measure time as the interval it takes for something to happen, and insofar as light's travel is the fastest process in the univer
by qubex 10y ago
Insofar as you can only really measure time as the interval it takes for something to happen, and insofar as light's travel is the fastest process in the universe, and that the plank scale is the smallest distinguishable distance, it follows that the measurement of time across that smallest interval is the shortest interval that can be reliably measured.
- criddell 10y agoDoesn't that imply that every process in the universe proceeds in lock-step? If two virtual particles were to randomly pop into existence, does the time between the first and second particle appearing have to happen in some whole multiple of Planck time?
- notduncansmith 10y agoTo my understanding, Planck time describes a limit on sample rate, not frequency. That is, we can't perceive time at a finer grain than whole multiples of Planck time. But even starting with only integers, we can theorize and simulate floats. The speed of light is as arbitrary a scale as anything else when you're talking about absolutes, hence "it's all relative".
- lgas 10y agoVirtual particles actually exist for less than a planck unit of time. I'm not a physicist and I'm having trouble finding a good clear reference, but this page mentions it (cmd-f 'less than') - http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast123/lectures/lec17.html http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast123/lectures/lec17.html