Clocks and Time

Abstract

A general definition of a clock is proposed, and the role of clocks in establishing temporal pre-conditions in quantum mechanical questions is critically discussed. The different status of clocks as used by theorists external to a system and as used by participant-observers within a system is emphasized. It is shown that the foliation of spacetime into instants of time is necessary to correctly interpret the readings of clocks and that clocks are thus insufficient to reconstruct time in the absence of such a foliation.