Around-the-World Atomic Clocks: Observed Relativistic Time Gains

@article{Hafele1972AroundtheWorldAC,
  title={Around-the-World Atomic Clocks: Observed Relativistic Time Gains},
  author={Joseph C. Hafele and Richard E. Keating},
  journal={Science},
  year={1972},
  volume={177},
  pages={168 - 170}
}
Four cesium beam clocks flown around the world on commercial jet flights during October 1971, once eastward and once westward, recorded directionally dependent time differences which are in good agreement with predictions of conventional relativity theory. Relative to the atomic time scale of the U.S. Naval Observatory, the flying clocks lost 59 � 10 nanoseconds during the eastward trip and gained 273 � 7 nanoseconds during the westward trip, where the errors are the corresponding standard… 
View on AAAS
personal.psu.edu
270 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
8
Background Citations
55
Methods Citations
17
Results Citations
13

270 Citations

Around-the-World Relativistic Sagnac Experiment

Observations of the Sagnac effect were made by using electromagnetic signals instead of portable clocks to make clock comparisons, finding the effect is larger than that occurring when portable clocks are used.

The light clock: Error and implications

The light clock (a photon undergoing successive reflections between two particle mirrors a fixed distance apart) has commonly been used as a theoretical confirmation of the special-relativistic…

Proper Time Experiments in Gravitational Fields with Atomic Clocks, Aircraft, and Laser Light Pulses

Quantum Optics is a part of the more general subject of Quantum Electronics which includes atomic clocks as well as lasers. By utilizing our understanding of the quantum mechanical properties of…

Phsyical Sciences: Flying Clocks and the Sagnac Effect

IN their “flying clock” experiment1 Hafele and Keating observed an on-Earth directional dependence of the relativistic time dilation. I have argued2 that such a dependence is contrary to special…

A study of clock effects in Newton–Maxwell formalism

Relativistic effects on time scales and signal transmission

The current view of space-time chronometry is reviewed in its different elements, clock transport and the ‘twin paradox,’ the effect of a gravitational field, and the Doppler effect. In this view a…

Practical implications of relativity for a global coordinate time scale

Frontiers of technology now need synchronization between remote clocks to an accuracy of about a nanosecond. Rate changes arising from the velocity and gravitational potential of a transported clock…

Energy as a measure for the elapse of time.

Clocks in different heights or with different velocities run with different speeds. For global positioning systems these effects are much too large to be ignored. Nevertheless, in classical and…

On a relativistic geodesy

Theoretical formulas for relativistic estimation of geopotential differences are given. The relativistic geoid is defined.A technique for measuring potential differences with high precision clocks…

The Behaviour of Clocks and Rods in Special and General Relativity

While adhering to the formalism of Special and General Relativity, this paper considers the interpretation of clock rates and the rating of clocks in detail. We also pay particular attention to the…
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 11 REFERENCES

Around-the-World Atomic Clocks: Predicted Relativistic Time Gains

During October 1971, four cesium beam atomic clocks were flown on regularly scheduled commercial jet flights around the world twice, once eastward and once westward, to test Einstein's theory of…

Relativistic Time for Terrestrial Circumnavigations

Relative to a clock at rest on the Earth's surface, the time recorded by an ideal clock after a circumnavigation of the Earth depends not only on the speed and altitude but also on the direction of…

Cesium Beam Atomic Time and Frequency Standards

In recognition of the October 1964 declaration of the International Committee of Weights and Measures that the physical measurement of time be based on a particular transition between two hyperfine…

Atomic Time Scales

Techniques of construction of atomic time scales are discussed and experiments at the National Research Council using a group of commercial cesium standards and the NRC 2.1 m laboratory cesium…

We refer herein to the local atomic time scale AT(A.1 MEAN USNO) as simply MEAN(USNO)

  • 1971

We thank the Office of Naval Research for providing funds for evaluating the performance and behavior of atomic clocks under flight conditions

  • Fri,
  • 1972

J . C . Hafele

  • Amer . J . Phys .
  • 1970

The term "correlated rate-change" is meant to imply that the presence of cross correlations in the data permits identification of the clock which changed rate

    We thank the Office of Naval Research for providing funds for evaluating the performance and behavior of atomic clocks under flight conditions. We appreciate the help of G

      20390). 11 We thank the Office of Naval Research for providing funds for evaluating the performance and behavior of atomic clocks under flight conditions

      • Proceeditngs of the Third Aninual Precise Time and Time Interval Strategic Planning Meeting,
      • 1972