I’m trying to work out some ideas, but I need to know some fundamental capabilities of the network. Forgive my ignorance, and the vague nature of what I’m about to ask.
Are there any metrics which the network (or nodes) can ‘observe’ in order to ascertain the passing of time? I’m not talking about apps layered on top of the network, but more about the core operation - the fundamental workings. I believe the network won’t be able to know the time as such, and there are no bitcoin style blocks to count. Are there any other aspects which could be indicative of time passing or of the age of data or of an account? Even if it’s not an absolute measure, but rather a way to ascertain a sequence, or to relate the age of one ‘thing’ against that of another.
I’m not even sure that my question makes sense, so if someone could comment, perhaps I’ll be able to rethink how I phrase it. I could perhaps get more specific based on the responses I get…
It is worth noting that a hash of existing immutable data and including it in subsequent data, proves that the latter comes after the former.
Immutable data is stored at an address defined by the hash of the data stored. Guessing what data will create this hash is statistically impossible*, which is why you can use it as evidence that it pre-existed.
assuming a predefined pattern isn’t repeated to generate the data, obviously.
