If I drive my car through a corner slowly I’ll be fine. If I go fast, the car will skid off the road. All the materials are the same, the execution is the same. The only difference is over what amount of time this happens? The example is not important, the same goes for pretty much anything. Filling a bottle, ripping a sheet of paper..
I understand this from a intuitive perspective, but I wonder if someone can explain why time matters in physics in a simple way. What is the fundamental difference between doing something fast vs. slow.
I’m sure this is a silly question if you know some thermal dynamics or special relativity, but remember, I’m only 5!
In: Physics
Time is just a basis of measurement. It may seem like the amount of time for you to take that corner is what made you skid off the road, but it’s really the force–in this case inertia–that made you crash.
But how we calculate and measure these things is based off time (how long it takes to get from A to B) because it’s a constant, at least to a certain degree. You can rip a piece of paper fast or slow, but really it’s how much force you are using. The problem is you can’t look at that happening and calculate the force. But less force takes more time and we can use that time to calculate the force.
Latest Answers