I vaguely understand that, according to the theory of relativity, because the speed of light is constant, it stays the same regardless of how bent the space is, so time has to pass slower when there is a bend in space – but I cannot apply that understanding to time actually slowing down. All the examples on youtube seem to be understanding something I’m not. I cannot wrap my head around time dilation.
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I do really well with real world examples/visualisations.
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This is something very difficult to explain to most adults, let alone a five year old, but I’ll try!
The truth is, time never “slows down,” but different observers may experience what seems like time passing at different rates. The way you described it is essentially correct: since time and space are linked, at very high speeds the amount of time passing will be very low compared to objects which are relatively stationary. This point is important, since NOTHING is truly stationary in any real sense, except for an observer at any given point. But even to an observer traveling near the speed of light, time will appear to be passing normally. It’s only when they return to a point that has remained relatively still that the discrepancy would be notable.
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