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Does anybody really know what time it is


fygjam

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Does anybody really know what time it is
Does anybody really care
If so I can't imagine why
We've all got time enough to die

Einstein's theory of general relativity holds that a massive body like Earth curves
spacetime, causing time to slow as you approach the object -- so a person on top of a
mountain ages a tiny bit faster than someone at sea level.

US scientists have now confirmed the theory at the smallest scale ever, demonstrating
that clocks tick at different rates when separated by fractions of a millimeter.

Ye and colleagues published their findings Wednesday in the prestigious journal Nature,
describing the engineering advances that enabled them to build a device 50 times more
precise than today's best atomic clocks.

Early experiments included the Gravity Probe A of 1976, which involved a spacecraft
6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers) above Earth's surface and showed that an onboard
clock was faster than an equivalent on Earth by one second every 73 years.

In 2010, NIST scientists observed time moving at different rates when their clock was
moved 33 centimeters (just over a foot) higher.

Ye's key breakthrough was working with webs of light, known as optical lattices, to trap
atoms in orderly arrangements. This is to stop the atoms from falling due to gravity or
otherwise moving, resulting in a loss of accuracy.

The clock is so precise that when the scientists divided the stack into two, they could
detect differences in time in the top and bottom halves.

"Space and time are connected," said Ye. "And with time measurement so precise, you
can actually see how space is changing in real time -- Earth is a lively, living body."

Or, for example, study how global warming is causing glaciers to melt and oceans to
rise.

The current clock can detect time differences across 200 microns -- but if that was
brought down to 20 microns, it could start to probe the quantum world, helping bridge
disparities in theory.

According to quantum theory, every particle is also a wave -- and can occupy multiple
places at the same time, something known as superposition. But it's not clear how an
object in two places at once would distort space-time, per Einstein's theory.

 

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7 hours ago, SteveBC said:

Am i any wiser now after reading the above, has it changed my life or outlook at all ?? Not a bit, if anything it's given me a headache and an urge to have a beer .......

I can't be arsed to read it but mate,if you have to read that to get an urge for beer you are in need of help😂

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/17/2022 at 1:07 PM, fygjam said:

Does anybody really know what time it is
Does anybody really care
If so I can't imagine why
We've all got time enough to die

Einstein's theory of general relativity holds that a massive body like Earth curves
spacetime, causing time to slow as you approach the object -- so a person on top of a
mountain ages a tiny bit faster than someone at sea level.

US scientists have now confirmed the theory at the smallest scale ever, demonstrating
that clocks tick at different rates when separated by fractions of a millimeter.

Ye and colleagues published their findings Wednesday in the prestigious journal Nature,
describing the engineering advances that enabled them to build a device 50 times more
precise than today's best atomic clocks.

Early experiments included the Gravity Probe A of 1976, which involved a spacecraft
6,000 miles (10,000 kilometers) above Earth's surface and showed that an onboard
clock was faster than an equivalent on Earth by one second every 73 years.

In 2010, NIST scientists observed time moving at different rates when their clock was
moved 33 centimeters (just over a foot) higher.

Ye's key breakthrough was working with webs of light, known as optical lattices, to trap
atoms in orderly arrangements. This is to stop the atoms from falling due to gravity or
otherwise moving, resulting in a loss of accuracy.

The clock is so precise that when the scientists divided the stack into two, they could
detect differences in time in the top and bottom halves.

"Space and time are connected," said Ye. "And with time measurement so precise, you
can actually see how space is changing in real time -- Earth is a lively, living body."

Or, for example, study how global warming is causing glaciers to melt and oceans to
rise.

The current clock can detect time differences across 200 microns -- but if that was
brought down to 20 microns, it could start to probe the quantum world, helping bridge
disparities in theory.

According to quantum theory, every particle is also a wave -- and can occupy multiple
places at the same time, something known as superposition. But it's not clear how an
object in two places at once would distort space-time, per Einstein's theory.

 

Interesting stuff - the James Webb and SKA will also reveal insights that could lead to a whole new type of physics.  Relativity and Quantum both appear to be correct, but they obviously both cannot be. I tend to go with Einstein and believe that Quantum is incomplete, rather than Relativity is wrong. There is something big that we are unable to detect, see, or understand.  I reckon when we do, that the conflict between Relativity and Quantum will resolve, and the very dubious theories like Expansion, Dark Matter and Dark Energy will disappear. 

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On 2/17/2022 at 11:31 AM, coxyhog said:

I can't be arsed to read it but mate,if you have to read that to get an urge for beer you are in need of help😂

Think I'll wait to read it for when I get the urge to have a beer. That should cure it, though I'll probably lose the will to live as well. 🤣

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