Why does distance scale, but not time?

I never got into the whole fast-clock time operation of former layouts, I just had random tags placed on cars for their placement, as I didn't have any mainline length to speak of.

There a lot of operators using fast clocks at different ratios that fit best to their layouts. Here's a link to one of those: I imagine there are a million opinions - or more

http://www.model-railroad-info...able-operations.html

http://www.model-railroad-infoguy.com/fast-clock.html

To scale down time you use a fast clock as mentioned by Firewood. There are different ratios for fast clocks. There is no set rule as to which fast clock to use. You use the one you prefer best. The problem I have been reading about with the guys who like to operate their trains is that while the fast clock works great in making trains appear to be traveling greater distances the guy who is working the yard always lags behind because making up or taking trains apart takes pretty much the same time as it does on the prototype. 

You can scale time but you use a different formula. See the following link:

Introduction to scaling laws

The below statements are the relative statements copied from the above link:

"Suppose you are doing the special effects for a movie. You need to blow up the monster’s castle. You can’t afford to build a real castle, so you build a 1/Nth scale model. That is, all the linear dimensions are scaled down by a factor of N.

You need to scale the time by a factor of √N. That is, you shoot the explosion at a higher frame rate, so that when it is played back everything is seen in slow motion. In accordance with item 9, this means that each falling object falls through given (scaled) length in the appropriate amount of (scaled) time."

"9.  In free fall, starting from rest, the time for an object to fall a certain distance scales like the square root of the distance."

Neurologically, I'd guess it's because we do have the ability to judge distance reasonably accurately using our eyes, which we have calibrated since birth.  We have no equivalent time calibration system in our nervous system to my knowledge.  Our internal clocks are neither as precise nor are we as aware of them, as compared with visual information.   Just some amateur speculation .

WOW. Great responses. I need to spend some time with "Introduction to scaling laws", cited by Dennis Brennan. This forum is amazing for learning things. Thanks.

Way over my head.

Romiller 

I was just thinking about this as it relates to operations on my own layout. Even though time is the fourth dimension, it doesn't "scale out" the same as  distance. Time is adjustable to the specific situation.

Here's my example: I have a mainline that is about six scale miles long, but it represents about 60 miles of track in the real world. This would give me a compression rate of about 10:1, and be a benchmark for clock rate.

However, that rate of fast time may need to be adjusted based on train scheduling and work load for the operators, so they can keep, up or conversely, not get bored. Perhaps 8:1 (slower) or 12:1 (faster) would work better. These are things that get worked out with experience.

Big_Boy_4005 posted:

.. not get bored.

Right. This is a hands-on hobby after all so the boredom factor may be the dominant factor in how time gets scaled (or not).  Perhaps the real goal is to make time stand-still or even go backwards in time to capture nostalgia or a different (better?) period of our life! 

To the issue of how to scale time, I see 3 factors:

Separate from scaled timing for fast-clock operations is the scaled (or not) timing of individual mechanisms.  Our scaled models can accelerate 0 to 50 sMPH in a couple seconds, and decelerate just as fast.  Electronic momentum techniques can slow this down but I think the boredom factor comes into play...who wants to wait several loops past the next train station to get up to mainline speed!  Or I can startup a "cold" steam engine and having it moving down the track in a few seconds; that's one ginormous fast-clock multiplier!

Likewise, mechanisms like turnouts activated in a fraction of a second using original solenoid technology.  Better components like micro geared motors and suitable electronics can now slow this down to tortoise-like speeds.  So here it's an issue of better modeling vs. boredom factor.

I think whether scaled down in size or not, the brain expects some things to operate with a certain timing.  Crossing flashers or alternating ditch lights flashing other than once per second (or whatever) would simply look funny. 

The special and general theories of relativity hold space and time are one thing - spacetime.  When gravity (or a model railroad) distorts space it also alters time.  Space has three familiar dimensions (up/down; left/right; and forward/backward) and, as indicated by Elliot alluding to Einstein, at least one dimension of time.  As Einstein said,      "(t)ime is what keeps everything from happening at once".