Can a machine change the flow of time?

Hello to our colleagues and curious readers,

A machine can experience a different elapsed time from another clock because of its motion or gravitational conditions. This is a real, experimentally verified effect called time dilation. However, no technology has demonstrated the ability to slow the entire universe, stop time at the press of a button or reverse it into the past.

The phrase “changing time” therefore needs care. Different elapsed times, changing a machine’s operating speed, adjusting a displayed clock and the perception of time describe different things. In automation, completing a task faster does not mean making physical time run faster.

There is no single universal clock ticking identically for everyone

In relativity, the time a clock measures along its own path is called proper time. Two clocks that experience different motions and gravitational conditions may show different elapsed times when compared again. Each clock operates normally in its own location; the difference emerges when the measurements are compared.

Special relativity describes the effects of motion, while general relativity describes gravity and spacetime geometry. Saying “machines cannot affect physical time in any way” is therefore too absolute. A more accurate statement is: a machine’s path can change the time it accumulates relative to a reference clock; this is not a setting that controls time throughout the universe.

A numerical example involving speed

Ignore gravity and consider an ideal clock moving at a constant speed relative to a chosen reference frame. The relationship is:

Elapsed time on the moving clock = elapsed time in the reference frame × √(1 − v²/c²)

Here, v is the speed of motion and c is the speed of light in vacuum. At 80% of the speed of light, the multiplier is 0.6. During a segment lasting 10 hours in the reference frame, the moving clock records 6 hours. This is an ideal example calculated from the equation, not a machine journey achieved with current technology.

The example covers only the constant-speed segment. Calculating a return journey requires considering the entire motion history. The traveller’s own clock does not run backwards, so this difference must not be confused with travel into the past.

How does gravity affect measured time?

Near Earth, with other conditions comparable, a clock at a higher elevation runs slightly faster than one below it. Understanding this requires considering gravitational potential, not just the local gravitational force. “Stronger gravity means slower time” is an introductory explanation, not a substitute for the detailed calculation.

In 2010, NIST researchers measured this effect between precise clocks separated vertically by just 33 centimetres. The difference is far too small to notice in daily life, but it can be measured with atomic clocks. Larger differences can arise around black holes; that does not establish a safe, usable “time control device”.

GPS: a real engineering application of time differences

For GPS satellites, motion and gravitational effects must be considered together. Relative to reference clocks on Earth, satellite motion contributes approximately 7 microseconds per day of slowing, while gravitational conditions in orbit contribute approximately 45 microseconds per day of speeding up. The net difference is approximately 38 microseconds per day faster.

These effects are compensated for in the system’s design. The satellite does not arbitrarily change time; the difference arises because the clocks operate under different physical conditions. The technology accounts for the time difference to provide accurate measurements. Such experiments and applications show how machines help us investigate how the universe works.

Does speeding up a machine make time run faster?

No. Reducing a production cycle from 10 seconds to 5 seconds means completing the task sooner according to the same reference clock. A PLC can execute a more efficient control sequence, better programming can remove unnecessary waits, and sequence steps can be reorganised. What changes is process performance.

A high-speed counter captures closely spaced input pulses, a high-speed pulse output generates motion commands, and edge detection identifies signal transitions. These functions manage the timing of events. Changing motor speed or pulse frequency is not controlling relativistic time dilation.

Clock settings, communication delays and event order

Setting a device’s clock back by an hour does not change physical time; it changes the displayed date and time and potentially its timestamps. If a SCADA system and a data logger have different clock settings, the same event can appear at different times in their records. This is a synchronisation problem, not time travel.

With TCP/UDP communication, the times at which data is generated, sent and received can also differ. Network latency, PLC scan time and logging resolution must be assessed together. An alarm appearing on screen 100 milliseconds later does not mean the original event occurred 100 milliseconds later.

Can simulation or artificial intelligence change time?

A digital twin may calculate a day of production in a few minutes or display a one-second event in slow motion. What changes is the ratio between model time and actual execution time. The physical production line has not simultaneously experienced an entire day.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning can improve cycles or assess the likelihood of a fault. But predicting the future does not mean travelling there to inspect the outcome. Feedback control regulates measured process variables, not a universal time setting.

Common questions, clear answers

Can a machine stop time completely?
A process or a clock display can be stopped. No technology has demonstrated the ability to stop time for all surrounding physical processes.

Can time pass more slowly aboard a spacecraft?
Under particular motion and gravitational conditions, less time can accumulate relative to a chosen reference clock. People aboard experience their own local time normally.

Does increasing factory-machine speed produce significant time dilation?
At everyday machinery speeds, the relativistic effect is negligible for ordinary production timing. Noticeable changes in cycle duration come from mechanical and control processes.

Is ageing less the same as returning to the past?
No. Accumulating less proper time does not mean returning to an earlier event.

Scientific sources: NIST: optical clocks and relativity measurements · NIST: the experiment with a 33-centimetre height difference · NIST: GPS clocks and relativistic timing corrections