Is time affected by gravity, if so, how is it affected?

Question

I know that speed can affect time, but what about gravity. The nuclear powered clocks seem to go slower the closer they are to the earth. What is the mechanics behind it?

Answer 1

Speed and mass can effect the relative time of 'another' object or person. Nothing will affect the way time passes for you, or in your own frame of reference.



When an object is in a powerful gravitational field or moving very quickly relative to you, you would observe that time - including the rate of radioactive decay - in this other frame would be slower. An observer in that frame would perceive that your time was slowed. But if you were in that frame, time would pass for you as it always has, and radioactive decay would also proceed as it always has.



The mechanism of this slowdown from mass is to be found in General Relativity, in the way mass causes a distortion of space-time that may be undifferentiable from acceleration, but not because of an acceleration. In a similar way, the way time distorts in relative frames of motion is also an effect of space-time distortion of observers.



It is important to realize that in no case is there any absolute or objective change in the passage of time. If two observers, one travelling at .7 times the speed of light relative to the earth, and the other travelling at .9 times the speed of light relative to the earth were to observe the passage of time on the earth, they would each observe that the passage of time here was slowed, but each would observe that it was slowed by a different rate.

Answer 2

Yes it does, the greater the gravitational field, the slower time runs on a clock in that field, relative to a clock further away.

This was one of Albert E's, theories about space travel, this less gravity the faster time moves, not by much thou.

This is also the reason that the Air Force has a big fancy place out in Colorado, that does nothing, but monitor the atomic clocks on board the G.P.S. satellites, to make sure that they stay very accurate, so that everyone using the system has accurate time and information from the system.

Answer 3

Yes. Gravity affects the passage of time. It's a consequence of general relativity. Too complicated to explain here, but you can find an explanation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_relativity#Gravitational_time_dilation_and_frequency_shift



Oh, and "common sense" does not apply in modern physics.

Answer 4

a clock is not a representation of real time, its just our way of measuring it. the reason for that is probably because of the inner workings of the clock itself. and no, gravity does not affect time. time is not visible, you cant feel it, time is something we created.

Answer 5

Well, yes. It does.

The point is that gravity creates an acceleration.