Time dilation is caused by the finite travel time of light
Time dilation is a fundamental consequence of spacetime geometry and relative velocity or gravitational potential in relativity, rather than a mere optical illusion caused by the finite travel time of light.
The claim attributes time dilation to the finite travel time of light. In physics, time dilation is a real physical difference in the passage of proper time experienced by objects in relative motion or different gravitational potentials, rooted in the geometry of spacetime and the invariance of the speed of light, not simply an observational delay from light transit times. Standard literature on relativity confirms that time dilation occurs independently of whether light signals are actually exchanged.
Will CM. The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment.. 2014. https://doi.org/10.12942/lrr-2014-4
Tests of general relativity and special relativity, such as the Shapiro time delay and EEP validations, demonstrate that time dilation arises from spacetime geometry and relative velocity or gravitational potential, rather than simply the travel time of light.
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Will CM. The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment.. 2006. https://doi.org/10.12942/lrr-2006-3
Gravitational redshift and relativistic clock experiments confirm that time dilation is a fundamental property of spacetime rather than an artifact of optical signal propagation delays.
Wiltsche HA. The Forever War: understanding, science fiction, and thought experiments.. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-019-02306-6
Special relativity explains time dilation as a consequence of the constancy of the speed of light across inertial frames and the geometry of spacetime, rather than light having a finite travel time.
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