Relativity in the future of engineering

Author

Ashby, Neil

Author_Institution

Dept. of Phys., Colorado Univ., Boulder, CO, USA

fYear

1993

fDate

2-4 Jun 1993

Firstpage

2

Lastpage

14

Abstract

Numerous examples of relativistic effects which are important for current and future navigation, timing, and communications systems are discussed. It is noted that three relativistic effects, time dilation, the Sagnac effect, and gravitational frequency shifts, must be accounted for in order for modern systems to work properly. These effects are related in a nonmathematical way to fundamental relativity principles, i.e., constancy of the speed of light and the principle of equivalence. Examples of current and future engineering applications are discussed, such as in the Global Positioning System, and in time synchronization systems, geodesy, and communications

Keywords

Global Positioning System; geodesy; navigation; special relativity; telecommunication; time measurement; timing; Global Positioning System; Sagnac effect; communications systems; fundamental relativity principles; geodesy; gravitational frequency shifts; principle of equivalence; relativistic effects; speed of light; time dilation; time synchronization systems; Atomic clocks; Frequency synchronization; Global Positioning System; Mercury (metals); Optical propagation; Physics; Relativistic effects; Sagnac interferometers; Stability; Timing;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Frequency Control Symposium, 1993. 47th., Proceedings of the 1993 IEEE International

Conference_Location

Salt Lake City, UT

Print_ISBN

0-7803-0905-7

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/FREQ.1993.367367

Filename

367367