Rethinking Time Dilation: A Geometric Explanation Without Slower Time

This paper challenges the conventional view of time dilation in special relativity by proposing a purely geometric and energetic interpretation. Through a modified light clock thought experiment and precise calculations, we demonstrate that perceived time asymmetries arise from spatial motion and light travel distances, not from any intrinsic slowing of time. Our findings resolve long-standing paradoxes like the twin paradox without requiring time to be a flowing or stretchable substance. By viewing time as a conceptual coordinate for describing change, rather than a real dimension, we offer a coherent alternative framework that preserves mathematical consistency and aligns with physical observations. This reinterpretation may offer new insights for astrophysics, quantum mechanics, and cosmology.