Time in physics is traditionally treated as a fixed background parameter: absolute in Newtonian mechanics, geometric in relativity, and an external evolution parameter in quantumtheory. These formulations are mutually incompatible across scales, and the incompatibilityremains unresolved. We propose a new, scale-free definition of time based not on physical duration but on structural updates — the meaningful changes a system undergoes in its internalorganisation. This variable, which we call structural time, is dimensionless, domain-agnostic,and invariant under resampling. It provides a unified temporal framework applicable fromquantum oscillators to planetary dynamics. We demonstrate that structural time remainspredictive under coarse-graining, sparse sampling, and cross-scale transformations. Usingvalidated results from the Cohesion UFT framework applied to orbital mechanics and atmospheric dynamics, we show that structural time anticipates regime shifts, structural collapse,and intensification events in advance of those transitions appearing in physical time. Weargue that structural time offers a foundational diagnostic variable for multi-scale physicsand a unifying principle for the study of complex systems. This paper presents the conceptand its grounding in demonstrated results; the broader theoretical development is offered tothe research community for testing and extension.
Dexter Gilbert (2026) studied this question.