Re: General Relativity ?

[Gary Karshner <karshner@STMARYTX.EDU>]

Ken,
        This is not just a theoretical exercise, the Sagnac effect affects
our time standard due to the rotation of the standard clocks on the earth,
and GPS navigational satellites are "corrected" for the effects of general
relativity. The satellites clock run 442.5 parts in ten to the twelfth
faster then a similar clock on the ground. There is a nice article on this
in the May-June 1996 issue of Mercury entitled "Relativity in the Palm of
your Hand."

Gary


> A signal is sent from an orbiting station to the ground. The receiver will
> measure the in coming frequency to be greater than the sender would
> measure it. The
> question I was asked is whether this is due to the earthbound clock
> running at a slower rate or the signal actually increasing in frequency or
> can you really tell? I think I am in the latter camp.
Gary Karshner

St. Mary's University
San Antonio, Texas
KARSHNER@STMARYTX.EDU