Introduction[edit]
Definitions[edit]
Non-relativistic classical mechanics treats time as a universal quantity of measurement which is uniform throughout space, and separate from space. Classical mechanics assumes that time has a constant rate of passage, independent of the observer's state of motion, or anything external.[2] Furthermore, it assumes that space is Euclidean; it assumes that space follows the geometry of common sense.[3]
In the context of special relativity, time cannot be separated from the three dimensions of space, because the observed rate at which time passes for an object depends on the object's velocity relative to the observer. General relativity also provides an explanation of how gravitational fields can slow the passage of time for an object as seen by an observer outside the field.
Uncle Ken is still hung up in Newtonian physics, which is fine as long as he remains on this planet. If, however, he ever decides to venture out into inter-stellar space, he will need to accept that time speeds up and slows down. Actually, time and space are not even two different things, they are all parts of one thing called "spacetime" which, among other things, causes gravity by curving around material objects, or so I have been told.
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