Scientists use the lifetime of muons as a tangible example that time is relative, as described by special relativity. However, time dilation is not actual time, so it can't cause a physical action.
Muons are created by Cosmic rays, which are high-energy particles that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate not only from the Sun but also from outside the Solar System and from distant galaxies. Upon impact with Earth's atmosphere, cosmic rays produce secondary particles, some of which reach the surface as muons.
The following steps are from Wikipedia, explaining how time dilation allows muons to reach the Earth. I don't believe the theory, but I will include it for your reference, and then I will explain my theory.
Muon Creation and Decay
Muons are created at high altitudes when cosmic rays interact with the atmosphere. They decay into other particles with a relatively short half-life of 2.2 microseconds.
The Paradox
If you calculate the distance muons travel based on their half-life and speed, it's less than the distance to the Earth's surface. According to classical physics, very few should reach the surface. However, muons reach the Earth's surface, creating a paradox for scientists.
Time Dilation Solution
From the muon's perspective, its time runs normally, and its half-life is 2.2 microseconds. However, from the perspective of an observer on Earth, the muon's time appears to pass more slowly due to time dilation.
Increased Lifetime
The time dilation effect means that the muon's apparent lifetime, as observed from Earth, is longer than its rest-frame lifetime. This extended lifetime allows more muons to reach the surface than would be expected without time dilation.
Experimental Verification
Experiments that detect muons at different altitudes confirm this phenomenon, providing strong evidence for time dilation. The muon's decay offers an example that time is relative and can be affected by motion. Now, for a different explanation.
My Logical Perspective Explains the Paradox
Scientists use the lifetime and speed of muons to demonstrate that time dilation allows muons to reach the Earth's surface. Let's consider an alternative concept.
Muons have a mass 200 times heavier than that of an electron. That means they can't travel at the speed of light; however, a proton is 1,836 times the mass of an electron, and it has been accelerated at CERN to 99.99% the speed of light.
Thus, if muons receive enough energy from cosmic rays, they can travel almost at the speed of light. If the half-life of muons is 2.2 microseconds, they can travel less than 500 meters during that time, but the distance from where they are produced in the atmosphere is about 648 meters. How can they travel to the surface in 2.2 millionths of a second?
Well, particles move because a force imparts motion to them, and we use clocks to measure the distance, duration, or speed of particles. In fact, we have calculated the speed of light in space using clocks on Earth, so the actual speed of light would be slightly faster than the speed measured on Earth. More about that in another post article.
Since we use clocks that are affected by gravity, our clocks have built-in gravitational time dilation, which causes the speed of light to appear slower and the lifespan of muons to appear shorter. So muons reach the surface because the life of muons is longer than what clocks on Earth measure.
Temperature Time Dilation
Temperature also affects atomic frequencies and is the basis of the Kelvin scale. At absolute zero, all atomic vibration ceases. When muons travel through the atmosphere, they move from a colder to a warmer temperature, increasing their kinetic energy. The travel duration takes place in a different atmospheric environment, with less gravity, allowing them to travel farther using less energy, which extends their lifetime. However, their lifetime was measured by clocks in experiments involving gravity, which shows that they have a shorter lifetime. Clocks on Earth can not accurately measure the speed or age of objects experiencing a different environment. Thus, these reasons enable muons to reach the surface, so it's not because of time dilation.
Thank you for reading a different perspective on “Science in Your Life," where we examine what matters to us as we evolve our consciousness. See you next week. xoxo