MicroFactzzz#0004 · 🌌 Cosmic Oddities
Your Phone Corrects for Relativity Every Single Day
GPS satellites have to correct their clocks by microseconds every day, or the entire navigation system would drift by kilometers.
GPS satellites orbit high above Earth, where gravity is weaker — so according to general relativity, their clocks tick faster than clocks on the surface.
At the same time, they move very fast relative to Earth — and special relativity says moving clocks tick slower.
These two effects don't cancel out. Net result: satellite clocks run ahead of Earth clocks by about 38 microseconds a day — seemingly nothing, but without a daily correction, GPS position error would grow by roughly 10 km per day.
So when your phone's navigation accurately guides you to a coffee shop, a relativistic correction just played out behind the scenes — Einstein's theory at work in your pocket.
Sources
- General knowledge / encyclopedic sources
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Krulicza Nora
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