Abstract
This chapter deals with the structure of physical time. Within classical Newtonian physics, with its strict separation between space and time, the meaning of this expression ‘the structure of physical time’ is rather unproblematic: time, as conceived by Newton, is an entity existing by itself, per se, and this entity has certain properties. The whole set of these properties ascribed to time will be referred to here as ‘the structure of (physical) time’. Of special interest is the fact that this structure belongs to time itself, regardless of the relation time bears to space or any other physical quantity, or of the way time is being used in physical theories; as is well known, time, within a relativistic context, looses much of its independence, especially with regard to space.
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© 1985 D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
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Kroes, P. (1985). Physical Time and the Problem of its Structure. In: Time: Its Structure and Role in Physical Theories. Synthese Library, vol 179. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6522-5_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6522-5_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-009-6524-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-6522-5
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