What is time?

The Naked Scientists Podcast

Dr Chris Smith

Science Radio, Engineering, Naked Scientists, Natural Sciences, Technology, Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Medicine, Science

4.6 • 957 Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2026

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Time waits for no one, but what exactly is it? Is it just a human construct, or something far deeper, flowing through our minds and bodies? In this episode, we examine the very fabric of time: how we created it, how we perceive it, the hidden rhythms of our body clocks, and what the future might hold as science and technology bend the boundaries of time... Like this podcast? Please help us by supporting the Naked Scientists

Transcript

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0:00.0	All engine running.
0:03.4	Absolutely genius.
0:04.3	Welcome.
0:05.1	Welcome.
0:06.1	This is the show where we bring you science.
0:07.9	What that essentially means is...
0:09.4	Discovery is...
0:10.0	Advances.
0:11.0	Research.
0:11.7	Technology.
0:12.6	Unbelievable.
0:13.5	Without further ado, this is the naked scientists.
0:17.0	Hello, welcome to the naked scientist podcast, the show that brings you the biggest
0:20.6	breakthroughs and talks to the major movers and shakers in the worlds of science, technology and medicine.
0:26.1	I'm Chris Smith and today we're talking time. What is time? How do biology and physics keep track of time?
0:33.1	And why does our perception of it seem so variable from one minute to the next?
0:48.1	If you think about how often you check the time or look at the clock every day,
0:52.7	whether it's on your phone, laptop or watch.
0:55.8	The seconds and minutes organise our lives from morning to night.
0:59.7	But what actually is time, and why does it seem to race by sometimes and drag at others?
1:06.3	I vividly remember long car journeys as a child going to see remote grandparents.
1:10.4	The journey going
	...

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