AllYouCanTech

Are you aware that relocating a clock merely an inch downward results in a reduced ticking rate when compared to the identical clock placed at a greater elevation? Gravity doesn’t solely attract objects; it also warps time. As per Einstein’s relativity theory, the greater the gravitational pull you experience, the slower time progresses for you in contrast to someone positioned further away from the mass. This phenomenon is termed gravitational time dilation, and indeed, it occurs well outside the proximity of black holes. It is happening continuously, right here on our planet.

In 2022, a pair of researchers at JILA (a collaborative laboratory involving NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder) carried out a study to illustrate this phenomenon by positioning two atomic clocks just one millimeter apart vertically. It was discovered that the clock situated closer to Earth’s gravitational core functioned at a somewhat reduced speed than the clock placed higher. This quantifiably established that even the tiniest vertical shift results in a change in the flow of time.

This experiment provided unprecedented precision in confirming that gravity subtly alters time on scales as minute as a fingernail. “The most significant and thrilling outcome,” stated NIST/JILA Fellow Jun Ye, “is that we might connect quantum physics with gravity … It also demonstrates that there is no obstacle to developing <a href="https://www.bgr.com/science/new-atomic-clock-m