• Resonosity@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    2 months ago

    So are you saying that a caesium-133 atom observed on both the Earth and the Moon to oscillate 9,192,631,770 times will not represent the same absolute span of time?

    So, one observer will see those oscillations happen faster than the other?

    Does this have to do with the specific gravity fields of both observers, in that those fields affect how the atom oscillates?

    Or is there something else I’m missing?

    If special relativity is the answer, all good. I’m an electrical engineer trained in classic physics, so I’ll rest knowing that I’d probably need to study that to understand the time differences.

    • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      2 months ago

      It’s that relativity thing where each person will see the oscillations happening correctly, but when they look at what the other person did, the answer will seem wrong.

      The difference is small enough that it really only matters if you’re NASA and building moon GPS. MPS?