chronon

[ kroh-non ]

noun

1. a hypothetical unit of time, taken as a ratio between the diameter of the electron and the velocity of light, equivalent to approximately 10− 24 second.

chronon

/ ˈkrəʊnɒn /

noun

1. a unit of time equal to the time that a photon would take to traverse the diameter of an electron: about 10 ^–24seconds

Word History and Origins

Origin of chronon¹

1975–80; < Greek chron ( os ) time + -on ¹

Example Sentences

“I call it a chronon. Time does not exist. Instead, we interact with the ambient chronon field, and when we absorb a chronon —”

From Nature

“So the apparent passage of time is the quale of chronon absorption?” asked the Psychologist.

From Nature

“Indeed. Chronons attract each other, like gravity. They might even be gravity. The expansion of the Universe is not the result of some silly Cosmic Egg exploding at the moment of the creation, like that priest Lemaître proposes: instead, chronon depletion steadily reduces the attractive force. I call it inflation.”

From Nature

The Time Traveller climbed into the Chronon Emitter, fastened his seat belt, and turned the rightmost dial to ‘2’.

From Nature

“I wondered about that, too. Until I invented the Chronon Emitter.”

From Nature