dog77

How is time not a measurement? Please elaborate on this statement.

My lack of understanding of Cesium clock set aside. My point is that time and distance are both ratios. These measurements are always described relative to something else. Time is the ratio between events we observe over a distance. The speed of light is constant in a vacuum, and the rate of events we observe change relative to the speed of light in a vacuum according to the Lorentz time dilation, an equation derived based on simple geometry, which in turn is based on the postulate that speed of light is constant and all laws of physics are the same in all inertial reference frames. So a ratio of events (time) is changing relative to a constant (speed of light) according to the Lorentz time dilation (equation based on geometry). For me this speaks of an 'underlying mechanism of nature' with cause and effect, but I understand that is a controversy in itself. However the question of the topic is 'what is time?', and I believe it is no more than a ratio of events that happen over some distance, which is also a ratio. If you are digging deeper than this, than it seems like you would ask 'what is the underlying mechanism or mathematics of the events that happen over distance'.

Time and distance are described as ratios. Time is the ratio between events. Any measurement of time we use, is relative to another event. Today we define a second to be a specific number of radioactive events detected from a cesium atom. We use cesium radiation because whenever we measure it (relative to some other event) the result is very consistent. An event, is some action that takes place over a distance, but distance, like time is also a ratio. Every measurement of distance we use is relative to the distance of something else. Today we define a meter as the time it takes for light to travel some fraction of a second. We use light, because wherever we measure it (in a vacuum), we get the same value. So we are describing time and distance relative to constants we observe in nature. If you take two cesium clocks, sync them at some point on earth, and then take one of the clocks for a journey where you go a significant fraction of the speed of light, and then bring the clock back, and compare the clocks, you will notice that the cesium clock that took the journey has recorded a fewer number of events. So you could say that time has slowed down as you approach the speed of light, but you could also say that the ratio between the speed of light and the rate of cesium radiation has changed simply because of the underlying mechanism of nature. So my understanding is there is nothing mysterious about time, it is just the ratio of events we observe in nature. However what is mysterious is the underlying ratios and why they change in cases like the one I describe above.