My inclination is to say time doesn't exist. Yet as Prashant points out, there are such things as duration which rely on time for their definition. My understanding of physics is almost zilch.

Time = the number of planetary or galactic rotations? I mean, you can't talk about aging (of people or the universe) without depending on time. Hmm.

Well lady,terms like "duration" relying on time for their definition don't make time exist.
Anyway,In my opinion your understanding of subject is good one as without much confusion your concept seems very clear.

I'm searching a lot from many days but yet didn't came across proper definition of time.

Even in the famous encyclopedia "wikipedia" definition of time is so frugal......


"Time in physics is defined by its measurement: time is what a clock reads."


How when clocks battery gets down??

Actually Wikipedia is the best site,but they refrain themselves from putting wrong info on their site,while defining anything they avoid circularity.They know well how difficult it is to define time.

As you can see from the answers above there is a very clear
definition of time. Ignore it if you like but that won't change
much...

Prash,a deep post you have here but what do you have against texasscoundrels Time as a system of sequential relations that any event has to another as past,present or future.though am not very vast in physics but time is an interval between events,just like distance is length between two points.

Thank you sir.

But you are awfully cute!

There are two ways (at least) to look at time. The first is mathmatical where time is the forth dimension used in physics.

The "material" view of time takes some imagination. Einstein probably had the most famous view where time is as material as a tree. Time does not exist alone but is the other property of space, hence the way one looks at both space and time together is know as space/time. It is more or less and single concept.

Imagine the universe is like a deep ocean and you are about halfway to the bottom. Everything around you, instead of water, is space/time, but it has the additional property of being stretchable. As space stretches, time slows to the breaking point at the speed of light.

A big drain pulling water from the ocean would be similar to a black hole, stretching space and freezing time.

It would be hard to make too many analogies without going into an explanation of Relativity but I will just leave it at, the faster you go in space, the slower you travel in time.

Everything we do in life, revolves around time. How much time until we get there? How long do I have to get to work?, etc. Time is measured by speed of light.

Time does not decide, your concious thought decides!!!

Kinda contradictory isnt it? But think about each one indivigually.

Yes. The parallels between the concept of interval and distance are strong and obvious. Its sad to me when people try to mystify time in ways that requires them to dismiss these parallels.

Thanks metal wing,comprehensive analogies..time stretching..that will take different frames

yes there are parallels but not strong and obvious enough that we can overlook the similarities:though,one is temporal and the other spatial but both are dimensions,both have the same type of independent existence etc if they are that parallel,we wont have spacetime

Thanks denman.

I adore texas's attempt to define time.

I found some flaws there,for which we can't say it as a definition of time.

If you re-read his statement :
"Time: the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other, as past, present, or future; indefinite and continuous DURATION regarded as
that in which events succeed one another. "

Here the use of word "DURATION" makes it circular as it means time only.

An ideal & good definition is one which don't have any circularity,else the simplest definition of time can be "TIME IS TIME"

Further, it is not justifiable to relate & define time; only with refrence to events as virtually there is no distinction between past ,present & future,
all are actually illusion.Our general perception & conception about time is usually w.r.t events / changes / movements / instants but actually it presents
really a very small view of much bigger picture.

The above definition suggested by texas puts up time only as event dependant or as you said "interval between events" if this is the case then there shouldn't be
any time if nothing is happening,nothing is changing,nothing is moving.

Wouldn't there be "time" if nothing happens in whole universe ?

So,before the formation of universe wasn't there any time?

If time wasn't there,then did formation of universe occured in no time?? Can any action happen in absolutely no time? If yes,then how can we take actions or events as a base for defining time??

So you believe in time travel?

Here's an idea, read the Tao Te Ching and replace the word "Tao" with the word "time."

If you can detect an interaction, then the things doing the interacting exist.

Time interacts with moving objects and space.

The faster an object moves through space, the slower the object moves through time relative to other objects that are not moving at that accelerated velocity.

Time exists.