Scientific American Time (January 2012)
Special Editions

Cover; Scientific American Time; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Table of Contents; Scientific American Time; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

What Time Is It?; Scientific American Time; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)

The Chronic Complaint

Real Time; Scientific American Time; by Gary Stix; 4 Page(s)

The pace of living quickens continuously, yet a full understanding of things temporal still eludes us

That Mysterious Flow; Scientific American Time; by Paul Davies; 6 Page(s)

From the fixed past to the tangible present to the undecided future, it feels as though time flows inexorably on. But that is an illusion

Is Time an Illusion?; Scientific American Time; by Craig Callender; 8 Page(s)

The concepts of time and change may emerge from a universe that, at root, is utterly static

A Hole at the Heart of Physics; Scientific American Time; by George Musser; 2 Page(s)

Physicists can't seem to find the time—literally. Can philosophers help?

How to Build a Time Machine; Scientific American Time; by Paul Davies; 6 Page(s)

It wouldn't be easy, but it might be possible

Time and the Twin Paradox; Scientific American Time; by Ronald C. Lasky; 4 Page(s)

Does time tick by at the same rate for everyone?

Times of Our Lives; Scientific American Time; by Karen Wright; 8 Page(s)

Whether they're counting minutes, months or years, biological clocks help to keep our brains and bodies running on schedule

Remembering When; Scientific American Time; by Antonio Damasio; 6 Page(s)

Several brain structures contribute to "mind time," organizing our experiences into chronologies of remembered events

Clocking Cultures; Scientific American Time; by The Editors; 2 Page(s)

What is time? The answer varies from society to society

A Chronicle of Timekeeping; Scientific American Time; by William J. H. Andrewes; 8 Page(s)

Our conception of time depends on the way we measure it

From Instantaneous to Eternal; Scientific American Time; by David Labrador; 2 Page(s)

The units of time range from the infinitesimally brief to the interminably long. The descriptions given here attempt to convey a sense of this vast chronological span

Ultimate Clocks; Scientific American Time; by W. Wayt Gibbs; 8 Page(s)

Atomic clocks are shrinking to microchip size, heading for space—and approaching the limits of useful precision

How Time Flies; Scientific American Time; by John Matson; 2 Page(s)

Recent experimental optical clocks are so precise that even a small change in elevation or velocity makes them register the passage of time differently

Inconstant Constants; Scientific American Time; by John D. Barrow, John K. Webb; 8 Page(s)

Do the inner workings of nature change with time?

The Myth of the Beginning of Time; Scientific American Time; by Gabriele Veneziano; 12 Page(s)

String theory suggests that the big bang was not the origin of the universe but simply the outcome of a preexisting state

What Keeps Time Moving Forward?; Scientific American Time; by John Matson; 4 Page(s)

A timely conversation with physicist Sean M. Carroll about how our one-way trip from the past to the future is entangled with entropy and the origin of the universe

Atoms of Space and Time; Scientific American Time; by Lee Smolin; 10 Page(s)

We perceive space and time to be continuous, but if the amazing theory of loop quantum gravity is correct, they actually come in discrete pieces

Could Time End?; Scientific American Time; by George Musser; 8 Page(s)

Yes. And no. For time to end seems both impossible and inevitable. Recent work in physics suggests a resolution to the paradox

Stopping Time; Scientific American Time; by The Editors; 1 Page(s)