Saturday, March 17, 2007

Gravitational Time Dilation


Gravitational time dilation is manifested in accelerated frames of reference or, by virtue of the equivalence principle, in the gravitational field of massive objects. In more simple terms, clocks which are far from massive bodies (or at higher gravitational potentials) run faster, and clocks close to massive bodies (or at lower gravitational potentials) run slower.

It can also be manifested by any other kind of accelerated reference frame such as a dragster or space shuttle. Spinning objects such as merry-go-rounds and ferris wheels are subjected to gravitation time dilation as an effect of their angular spin.

This is supported by General Relativity due to the equivalence principle that states all accelerated reference frames possess a gravitational field. According to General Relativity, inertial mass and gravitational mass are the same. Not all gravitational fields are "curved" or "spherical", some are flat as in the case of an accelerating dragster or space shuttle. Any kind of g-load contributes to gravitational time dilation.

TAKEN FROM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_time_dilation

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