Random Time

Abstract

IF the point of the hand of a clock moves along the circumference of the unit circle with constant angular velocity ω, then the time measured is determined by the position: This formulation depends, however, on the abstraction of a ‘uniform time’, a concept which, after Mach's critique, fails to be meaningful and cannot be made legitimate even if a built clock is replaced by a clock determined by the gyrations of the Earth (or, for that matter, of a galaxy). Clearly, the conceptual difficulty remains unaltered if, instead of astronomical clocks, recourse is had to electron clocks—those supplied by electromagnetic or spectroscopie measurements.