PS 137 - The Nature and Origins of Time

Time is one of the most fundamental quantities in all of science and is something we take for granted. But what is it and how do we measure it? This course will address these questions by first providing a basic background in the physics and math necessary to study time in a scientific manner before using this background to explore the nature of time and how we measure it. Specific topics will include synchronizing clocks, methods of measuring time, paradoxes of time, causality & determinism, gravity’s effect on time, thermodynamic time, time in emergent systems, time in quantum systems, time in complex (including biological and evolutionary) systems, perceptions of time, geological time, and the nature of clocks.

Note: Meets Scientific Reasoning Learning Outcome (SCI)

Four credits.