Physics & chemistry / DAY 10 OF 40
Time is a little different upstairs.
Atomic clocks can detect relativity over a height difference of centimetres.
Here's the strange part.
Time does not keep quite the same pace upstairs. NIST researchers raised an atomic clock by about 33 centimetres and measured it ticking slightly faster than a lower clock, in line with relativity. The difference is far too small to feel. Your head-ageing-faster story comes from extending that physics, not from measuring visibly different birthdays across a person. (NIST)
The human-lifetime comparison is an extrapolation from precise clock measurements. You will not feel your head ageing faster.
REALITY CHECK · TRUE OR FALSE?
Is upstairs running ahead of schedule?
Researchers measured the height-related clock effect in a laboratory.
Go straight to the receipts.
Curious about the methods, dates or details? Open the original source and keep the caveat in view.
ORIGINAL SOURCENISTOpen publication ↗NEXT IN THE 40-DAY TRAIL / DAY 11Newton had an alchemy era. ↗