# age (temporal)

the time since a thing began

- Computed level: L3 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday  ·  Arena: generic

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [time](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-time.dimension), [change](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-change.process), [since](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-since.temporal)

**Through:** time starts when a thing began and persists through change, marked by the duration from that point to now

**Novel properties:**
- elapsed duration
- temporal continuity
- origin-point reference

## Examples
- The Sun has burned for 4.6 billion years, measured from the condensation of the solar nebula. *(astronomy)*
- The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, marks the legal foundation of modern New Zealand. *(institutions)*
- Proxima Centauri b’s atmosphere may have eroded over 4.8 billion years due to stellar flares. *(planetary science)*

## Used by
- [mature](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-mature.development) (L8)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-age.temporal*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-age.temporal.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*