Space-Time Issues

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Space-Time Issues

plissaman

My superficial knowledge of the subject comes from an A in a grad class at Caltech on Relativity, long before GPS.  No problem in measuring interval between events at the same place, with a relativistic correction. The issue here is synchronization of clocks at different points in space (CERN and Italy).  This is doable, of course, but not trivial. Still hopin' Mr. Natural will enlighten me!

Incidentally, most "explanations" of GPS are vaguely incorrect.  You CAN'T directly measure the time a signal takes to get to you, sitting at a mountain lake, from a Teapot in the sky, because you can't synchronize your $199 Gelsons GPS unit.  It doan really know when the signal was sent.  There's a tricky little calculation involving the difference in arrival time at your station between calibrated signals from two located, synchronized Teapots.  It does assume you are at one place at a given instant -- oftentimes the case with me. 

GPS, like most things in this world, is much smarter than its interpreters! 

Peter Lissaman, Da Vinci Ventures

Expertise is not knowing everything, but knowing what to look for.

1454 Miracerros Loop South, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505,USA
tel:(505)983-7728


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Re: Space-Time Issues

Owen Densmore
Administrator
At the recent Friam meeting, it was mentioned that a super-nova in a distant galaxy had light and neutrinos arriving at the same instant.

        -- Owen

On Sun, Sep 25, 2011 at 11:27 AM, <[hidden email]> wrote:

My superficial knowledge of the subject comes from an A in a grad class at Caltech on Relativity, long before GPS.  No problem in measuring interval between events at the same place, with a relativistic correction. The issue here is synchronization of clocks at different points in space (CERN and Italy).  This is doable, of course, but not trivial. Still hopin' Mr. Natural will enlighten me!

Incidentally, most "explanations" of GPS are vaguely incorrect.  You CAN'T directly measure the time a signal takes to get to you, sitting at a mountain lake, from a Teapot in the sky, because you can't synchronize your $199 Gelsons GPS unit.  It doan really know when the signal was sent.  There's a tricky little calculation involving the difference in arrival time at your station between calibrated signals from two located, synchronized Teapots.  It does assume you are at one place at a given instant -- oftentimes the case with me. 

GPS, like most things in this world, is much smarter than its interpreters! 

Peter Lissaman, Da Vinci Ventures

Expertise is not knowing everything, but knowing what to look for.

1454 Miracerros Loop South, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505,USA
tel:<a href="tel:%28505%29983-7728" value="+15059837728" target="_blank">(505)983-7728


============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org


============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org