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Why GPS Needs Einstein
Your phone's blue dot only works because engineers correct for time itself bending. GPS is a daily test of Einstein.
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Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a network of satellites that broadcasts precise time and location radio signals down to Earth.
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Atomic Clock
Atomic clocks measure time using resonant atomic frequencies, defining the SI second as 9,192,631,770 oscillations of a caesium-133 atom.
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Speed of Light
The speed of light is the universal speed at which electromagnetic waves and massless particles travel through a vacuum, which is empty space.
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Special Theory of Relativity
The Special Theory of Relativity is a physics theory describing the relationship between space and time for objects moving at constant speeds.
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Time Dilation
Time dilation is the difference in elapsed time measured by two clocks due to relative speed or gravity.
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General Relativity
General relativity explains gravity as the warping of space and time by mass and energy, replacing Newton's concept of an attractive force.
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Gravitational time dilation
Gravitational time dilation is the actual difference in how fast time passes for objects at different distances from a heavy mass.