Is direct measurement of time possible?

[摘要] Is direct measurement of time possible? The answer to this question may depend upon how one understands time. Is time an essential constituent of physical reality? Or is what scientists are talking about when they use the symbol 't' or the word 'time' an human cultural construct, as the Chief of the USA NIST Divisions of Time and Frequency and of Quantum Physics has suggested. Few aspects of physics do not reference activity to time, but many discussions within either view of time seem to use one same, largely traditional, language of time. Briefly considering the question of measurement, including from a formal measure-theoretic point of view, clarifies the situation.

[发布机构] Department of Computer Science, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany; NY; 12222, United States^1

[效力级别] 力学 [学科分类] 力学，机械学

[关键词] Direct measurement;Physical reality;Quantum physics;Time and frequencies