Dynamical Time Scale

Dynamical time scale has two distinct meanings and usages, both related to astronomy:

1. In one use, which occurs in stellar physics, the dynamical time scale is alternatively known as the freefall time scale, and is in general, the length of time over which changes in one part of a body can be communicated to the rest of that body. This is often related to the time taken for a system to move from one equilibrium state to another after a sudden change.
2. In another use, in connection with time standards, dynamical time is the time-like argument of a dynamical theory; and a dynamical time scale in this sense is the realization of a time-like argument based on a dynamical theory: that is, the time and time scale are defined implicitly, inferred from the observed position of an astronomical object via a theory of its motion. A first application of this concept of dynamical time was the definition of the ephemeris time scale (ET).