slow time scale
- noun
- Specialized
:
escala de tiempo lenta
- The simulation accounted for a slow time scale, allowing scientists to observe the gradual effects of climate change over decades.
Examples
-
Could salmon cycles be governed by wide climatic wheels that move on such a slow time scale that they have escaped our notice?
Academic text (1995) -
Using a slow time scale in their experiments, the team was able to illustrate how gradual geological processes shape the landscape.
-
In climate modeling, researchers often use a slow time scale to analyze long-term trends rather than immediate changes.
Synonyms
A way of showing time in a simulation so events take longer than in real life
Antonyms
- Specialized
A way of running a simulation where time moves faster than real life
How Slow
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'slow' (low speed), 'time' (temporal dimension) and 'scale' (relative magnitude), so a learner who knows those words can infer it refers to a temporal scale that is slow or stretched. Although the phrase is used in technical contexts (simulations) with precise numeric meaning, the core concept is compositional and cross-linguistically transparent, making it predictable to B1 learners who know the parts.
Etymology
Slow time scale creates the image of a clock or a video played very slowly — slow shows low speed, time is what moves, and scale is how much we stretch that movement. So, it means a way of making events run 'slower than real time' so you can watch or study long-term changes.