gravitational time dilation. When the plane returned, the clock that took the plane ride was slower by exactly the amount Einstein's equations predicted. Basically, it states that the faster we go, the more the time is affected. The effects of time dilation don't become really noticeable until very high speeds are reached so for this worked example I will use a speed of 90% of that of light, that is 270,000 km per second (the speed of light is very close to 300,000 km per second, or 186,300 miles per second). The effects of time dilation are used often in science fiction stories, dating back to at least the 1930s. The image is divided into two parts. Also, global positioning system (GPS) satellites have to compensate for this time dilation to function properly. After compensating for varying signal delays due to the changing distance between an observer and a moving clock (i.e. I know that they have proven time dilation in the moving frame from the perspective of the stationary frame, eg comparing two cesium clocks in the jumbo jet test. So let us try and make sense of the image and discover the reason behind gravitational time dilation. Time Dilation Examples . Time dilation is real! Time Dilation. The first thing we must do is to write down the equation: In Einstein's theory of relativity, time dilation describes a difference of elapsed time between two events, as measured by observers that are either moving relative to each other, or differently, depending on their proximity to a gravitational mass. And anyone who uses a GPS, or the “My Location” option on Google Maps, is making direct use of the fact that time dilation is real. Time dilation helps explain how the speed of light doesn't change with perspective. The upper part contains a clock placed high above the earth’s surface, thus in a region of low gravity while the clock at the bottom of the image is placed closer to the In fact, even biological processes, and consequently, time, is dilated. Prev NEXT . One of the earliest and most well-known thought experiments to feature time dilation is the famous Twin Paradox, which demonstrates the curious effects of time dilation at its most extreme. In order to attempt to prove this theory of time dilation, two very accurate atomic clocks were synchronized and one was taken on a high-speed trip on an airplane. Time dilation is a difference in the elapsed time as measured by two clocks due to a relative velocity between them or to a difference in gravitational potential between their locations. General Relativity’s universality assures this. The time differences shown on the clocks, as a result of their relative motion, precisely matched the predictions from relativity. So time dilation is on very solid scientific ground. However, time dilation affects every clock, whether it relies on the simplest of an electromagnetic phenomenon or a complex combination of electromagnetism and Newton’s laws of motion.