Introduction to general relativity

Ever wondered why clocks on fast-moving planes tick slightly slower?

Introduction to general relativity

Ever wondered why clocks on fast-moving planes tick slightly slower?

Imagine you're on a plane flying at high speeds, and you notice the flight's clock is a tiny bit behind the clock at the airport.

As the plane zips through the sky, time itself stretches a bit, making everything on the plane move through time a little slower compared to those at the airport.

Example

If a flight's clock shows a 1-hour delay compared to the airport clock, but the plane's speed is such that time dilates by 0.01%, then the plane's clock would actually lag by 0.0001 hours, or 0.006 seconds.

Remember this

The faster you move through space, the slower you move through time.

Related concepts

Swipe through 100 ML concepts daily

Open Pocket Polymath