Answer to Question #113547 in Mechanics | Relativity for John Dawson

Question

Thank you for your help and thank you for your patience. It means a lot to me.
I’m still having a hard time reconciling.

Would it be accurate to say that if object A and object B were “floating” inertially in deep space, and a force accelerated object B away from object A at some velocity, that the clock in object B would tick slower than the clock in object A?

Answer 1

Answer: In relativistic mechanics, time depends on the choice of a frame of reference. Events that occurred in one frame of reference at the same time in the other can be separated by time intervals, ie simultaneity of two events is relative.

The time interval counted in the reference system associated with object A relative to which the clock is at rest is less than the time interval recorded in the reference system associated with moving object B. In other words, the time in moving frame of reference is slowing down.