Abstract
EINSTEIN concluded in his 1905 paper on relativity that “a balance-clock at the equator must go more slowly, by a very small amount, than a precisely similar clock situated at one of the poles under otherwise identical conditions”1. At that time, of course, he had not yet developed the general theory and did not realize that the difference in the gravitational potential at the equator and poles would just cancel the time dilatation from the difference in surface speeds, as has been pointed out recently by W. J. Cocke2. Cocke has also shown that, in so far as the Earth assumes the shape of the geoid (and weak tidal fields can be neglected), its entire surface is an “equal time” surface. There remains an interesting question, however: What would be the rate of a standard clock that is moving relative to stationary standard clocks on the geoid ? The standard answer that moving clocks run slow by the well known factor (1 - v2/c2)1/2 is almost certainly incorrect. The purpose of this note is to discuss this question of the rate of moving terrestrial clocks relative to stationary ones.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Einstein, A., Ann. Physik, 17, 891 (1905) (English translation by Perrett, W., and Jeffrey, G. B., The Principle of Relativity (Dover Publications, New York, 1923)).
Cocke, W. J., Phys. Rev. Lett., 16, 662 (1966).
Møller, C., The Theory of Relativity (Oxford University Press, 1952).
Ramsey, N. F., Amer. Sci., 56, 420 (1968).
Dingle, H., Nature, 217, 19 (1968).
Bodily, L. N., and Hyatt, L. C., Hewlett-Packard J., 19, 12, No. 4 (1967).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
HAFELE, J. Relativistic Behaviour of Moving Terrestrial Clocks. Nature 227, 270–271 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/227270a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/227270a0
This article is cited by
-
Relativistic Behaviour of Circumnavigating Clocks
Nature (1973)
-
Phsyical Sciences: Flying Clocks and the Sagnac Effect
Nature (1973)
-
Relativistic Effects for Moving Terrestrial Clocks
Nature Physical Science (1973)
-
An interaction interpretation of special relativity theory. Part II
Foundations of Physics (1973)
-
Reply to Schlegel
Nature Physical Science (1971)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.