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Gravitational time dilation is a form of time dilation, an actual difference of elapsed time between two events, as measured by observers situated at varying distances from a gravitating mass. The lower the gravitational potential (the closer the clock is to the source of gravitation), the slower time passes, speeding up as the gravitational ...
Time dilation is the difference in elapsed time as measured by two clocks, either because of a relative velocity between them (special relativity), or a difference in gravitational potential between their locations (general relativity). When unspecified, "time dilation" usually refers to the effect due to velocity.
The Shapiro time delay effect, or gravitational time delay effect, is one of the four classic Solar System tests of general relativity. Radar signals passing near a massive object take slightly longer to travel to a target and longer to return than they would if the mass of the object were not present.
This gravitational frequency shift corresponds to a gravitational time dilation: Since the "higher" observer measures the same light wave to have a lower frequency than the "lower" observer, time must be passing faster for the higher observer. Thus, time runs more slowly for observers the lower they are in a gravitational field.
Instead there are approximate inertial frames moving alongside freely falling particles. Translated into the language of spacetime: the straight time-like lines that define a gravity-free inertial frame are deformed to lines that are curved relative to each other, suggesting that the inclusion of gravity necessitates a change in spacetime geometry.
Also, gravitational time dilation was measured from a difference in elevation between two clocks of only 33 cm (13 in). [ 28 ] [ 29 ] Presently both gravitational and velocity effects are routinely incorporated, for example, into the calculations used for the Global Positioning System .
Any theory of gravity will predict gravitational time dilation if it respects the principle of equivalence. [ 6 ] : 16 This includes Newtonian gravitation. A standard demonstration in general relativity is to show how, in the " Newtonian limit " (i.e. the particles are moving slowly, the gravitational field is weak, and the field is static ...
Changes in physical constants are not meaningful if they result in an observationally indistinguishable universe. For example, a "change" in the speed of light c would be meaningless if accompanied by a corresponding "change" in the elementary charge e so that the ratio e 2:c (the fine-structure constant) remained unchanged. [8]