this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2023
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The theory of relativity (special and general).

It is more that 100 years now, and it is perfectly true according to all current physicists, but still hardly anybody (outside of physicists) knows it. What a shame.

For example, GPS wouldn't work without it - your position would be wrong by a few miles all the time.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My mind was blown when I learned that a difference of just a few centimeters in height is enough to detect time dilation. I always thought the effect was so subtle that it could only be detected on a galactic scale, but it turns out we deal with it every day!

It's so weird to think about, time is one of the few "constants" we have in life, but it's really not so solid.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

a difference of just a few centimeters in height is enough to detect time dilation

I'm sorry, what?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

https://youtu.be/hzLTgtFaPLY?si=QOJa4sQJ6Aqijhjn

You can skip to about 3 minutes for the relevant experiment, it's wild. They also talk about the GPS stuff in that video.