Re: round the world clock experiment

["Pamela L. Gay" <pgay@FAS.HARVARD.EDU>]

According to hyperphysics:
"During October, 1971, four cesium atomic beam clocks were flown on
regularly scheduled commercial jet flights around the world twice, once
eastward and once westward, to test Einstein's theory of relativity with
macroscopic clocks. From the actual flight paths of each trip, the
theory predicted that the flying clocks, compared with reference clocks
at the U.S. Naval Observatory, should have lost 40+/-23 nanoseconds
during the eastward trip and should have gained 275+/-21 nanoseconds
during the westward trip ... Relative to the atomic time scale of the
U.S. Naval Observatory, the flying clocks lost 59+/-10 nanoseconds
during the eastward trip and gained 273+/-7 nanosecond during the
westward trip, where the errors are the corresponding standard
deviations. These results provide an unambiguous empirical resolution of
the famous clock "paradox" with macroscopic clocks."

J.C. Hafele and R. E. Keating, Science 177, 166 (1972)

Cheers,
Pamela

Eric T. Lane wrote:
> Has there been any confirmation of the round the world clock experiment?
>
> Specifically, an experiment is conducted in which one member of
> a pair of identical clocks is sent on a round trip involving any
> combination of accelerations and constant velocity travel,
> while the other stays at home with unchanged conditions.
>
> Has a difference in the elapsed time between the clocks upon return
> of the traveling clock to the home frame been demonstrated?
>
> Prof. Eric T. Lane  318 Grote Hall  423-425-4523  eric-lane@utc.edu
> Physics Dept.2352, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, TN 37403