Relativity in the future of engineering

Improvements in clock technology make it possible to develop extremely accurate timing, ranging, navigation, and communications systems. 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: 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, in time synchronization systems, communications, and geodesy.<
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