Introduction:
For over a century, Einstein’s theory of relativity has been a dominant force in modern physics. It suggests that time slows down if we travel quickly, and that space contracts with motion. His famous “light clock” thought experiments and the muon paradox seem to prove it. But what if the interpretation is flawed?
In this article, I present an alternative view: Time is absolute and universal, and time doesn’t bend or slow down, but clocks are affected by motion, temperature, and gravity. The motion of universal time, not the observer’s viewpoint, should define how we understand reality. If you've ever wondered whether time actually changes, or whether we’re just misinterpreting how clocks change, read on.
Clocks Measure Motion, Not Time
Every clock depends on physical oscillations: pendulums swing, quartz vibrates, and atoms shift between energy levels. Atomic clocks, the most precise devices humans have created, tick by counting the frequency of electromagnetic transitions of electrons in atoms. These frequencies are governed by local conditions, gravity, electromagnetic fields, motion, and temperature.
Therefore, clocks are fundamentally local devices, tied to the behavior of electrons and matter in their specific environment. When we take clocks into orbit and accelerate them to high speeds, the environment is different, and thus their ticking rates change. Is time relative or are clocks relative to the laws of physics?
Relativity’s Interpretation vs. a Clock's Reality
Einstein claims that time flows differently depending on an object’s path through spacetime. The faster you move, the slower your proper time passes, and the deeper you are in a gravitational well, the slower your clock runs. Is this a bit confusing?
We assume that clocks display time directly, but we observe that clocks tick differently when we move or are in different gravitational fields. Einstein concludes that time itself must be variable. Yet what if clocks tick differently not because time is stretching, but because the frequencies of matter’s quantum processes shift under forces, motion, and gravity? Then time itself would remain absolute, and clocks would reflect changes in its altered environment.
GPS, Muons, and Time Dilation
Examples such as GPS clocks and muon decay lifetimes are cited as evidence of time dilation. However, these involve clocks and processes in radically different environments. Clocks orbiting Earth experience microgravity, a cold vacuum, and solar radiation. Cosmic-rays change into muons and travel at nearly the speed of light in the upper atmosphere. If local environmental effects change matter’s frequencies, then clocks and decay rates would shift precisely as observed, without requiring time itself to change. Time, unlike matter or energy, is not a physical entity. It cannot be pushed, pulled, heated, or cooled. It cannot have forces acting upon it. Time is an abstract concept we use to label events and measure change. Since it's non-physical, time itself cannot be altered by any physical means, including changes in speed, acceleration, or gravity.
A Simpler Explanation
The most straightforward interpretation consistent with all experimental data is that time is absolute and universal. The physical frequencies of matter, and thus clocks, will change in response to the environment. Time dilation is an illusion created by shifts in the ticking of clocks, but it’s not evidence of time itself changing. Consider that universal time is an unchanging backdrop for all events, where clocks provide a local measure of how fast things move.
Einstein used a perfect photon clock in his mind experiments, which is not affected by the environment. So every measurement of speed or duration is precise. However, the math reveals that the photon clock is relative to motion and the clock's frame of reference. To correct his measurements, Einstein adjusted the time to maintain the speed of light at the correct speed. What kind of mathematical trick is this?
In reality, we measure the speed or duration of an activity with near-perfect atomic clocks, and we must correct the measurements to account for the difference of time. It’s like adding an error to correct for the speed of light, and then compensating for the mistake to correct a clock's measurements. Is this a scientific method? It seems like a flaw…
The use of Lorentz transformation diagrams with the speed of light is questionable. Consider that two-dimensional drawings of geometry shouldn’t be used for the speed of light, which is invariant. Einstein postulates that the speed of light is constant in all inertial reference frames.
Therefore, it doesn’t matter how fast a train or plane is moving; a photon will always bounce up and down the same distance in the same duration. Motion can’t change time itself, but the clock shows a change, so we think time is changing. If the speed of light is invariant, why should we allow the geometry of Lorentz transformations or light-clock diagrams to distort time and space?
Geometry Can't Distort Time if Light is Invariant.
Einstein’s postulate states that light always travels at the speed of c, regardless of the observer’s motion. Therefore, in a moving frame (train or plane), the photon in a light clock should still bounce straight up and down, not diagonally. There’s no reason for time to “slow down” unless the clock mechanism itself changes due to motion or electromagnetic frequency.
Lorentz transformations are being misapplied if they twist time and space based on the assumption that a photon bounces in a diagonal direction. This line of reasoning is philosophically ungrounded and opens the door to alternative interpretations of time. Physical instruments and clocks will change due to motion or energy interactions, but time is a universal constant and remains unchanged.
What Did Einstein Say?
Einstein took the view that the only way to preserve the postulate that light moves at speed (c) for all observers…is to redefine time and space. So when the train moves at almost the speed of light, the geometry must stretch the time and contract space. However, the laws of physics and the speed of light change if time changes. The speed of light is measured by its distance travelled per second, and if time changes, light's speed changes…
Relativity not only leads to time dilation, but space contracts when an object moves through it. These changes arise when observers must always experience the same speed of light, no matter their motion, even if it means warping space and time itself.
Conclusion
No experiment can directly observe time; all we have are clocks, which are matter-based devices sensitive to local conditions. Until we can measure time apart from matter, we cannot say whether time itself changes; we can only say that clocks do. Time dilation reflects changes in the behavior of matter, not changes in time itself. Examine my interpretation of muon decay next to Einstein’s.
Therefore, time is absolute and clocks are relative.
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