Looking at Time from a Physics Perspective

Book excerpt: The subject of time continues to be a subject of extensive research in the development of new theories of physics. This new volume is addressed to students who are starting a graduate program in physics or electrical engineering interested in complementing their studies of relativity theory and quantum physics, applying the knowledge they have acquired about these themes to the analysis of situations where the issue of time measurement is relevant. This is the case, for example, of clock synchronization, transit times of optical signals through dielectric and absorbing media, lifetimes of excited atomic states, among others. These topics, in addition to being of great importance to theoretical physicists, are the basis of many technological developments. For example, global positional systems (GPS) are based on the predictions of relativity theory about time and the effect of gravity over time measurement. Divided into six chapters, the volume discusses how the concept of time is present in the main fields of physics, such as classical mechanics, electrodynamics, quantum mechanics and theory of relativity. Illustrative examples and case studies are included in each chapter. The volume includes an analysis of themes related to time such as causality and the arrows of time, spooky action at distance and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox, quantum mechanics and entangled states, apparent superluminal velocity, and time reversal. This book, Looking at Time from a Physics Perspective, will contribute to the understanding of concepts learned in courses on classical mechanics, electrodynamics, quantum mechanics and relativity, reviewing the implications of the time variable for the description of the different physical phenomena at the microscopic and macroscopic level.