time dilation

time dilatation


noun
  1. the principle predicted by relativity that time intervals between events in a system have larger values measured by an observer moving with respect to the system than those measured by an observer at rest with respect to it

Words Nearby time dilation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for time dilation

time dilation

  1. The relativistic effect of the slowing of a clock with respect to an observer. In Special Relativity, a clock moving with respect to an observer appears to run more slowly than to an observer moving with the clock. In General Relativity, time dilation is also caused by gravity; clocks on the earth's surface, for example, run more slowly than clocks at high altitudes, where gravitational forces are weaker.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for time dilation

time dilation

In physics, the apparent slowing down of moving clocks that is predicted by the special theory of relativity. Time dilation is well verified experimentally.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.