Of course, this situation, which we will explain by basing it on Einstein’s “general relativity” theory, is quite confusing for us humans who are three-dimensional and perceive the universe in three dimensions.
In fact, it is so interesting that if you live on the ground floor of a building, your time flow is not at the same speed even with your neighbor living on the upper floor! To understand how this is possible, buckle up, we are moving into the 4th dimension.
Another study proved that the speed of time varies. Those living on the upper floors of the building were aging faster than those on the lower floors!
If we were to make a comparison, the ground; closer to the mass than from above. It may not make a serious difference, but gravity; stronger on the ground, in other words, time is slower.
In an experiment conducted by physicists, atomic clocks were used and it was seen that the clock on the upper floor worked faster than the clock on the lower floor! So, if you live on the upper floor of a building, you are in a different time flow than your neighbor who lives downstairs! So how can we explain this experiment?
This situation, which we consider as “gravity slowing down time”, is actually based on Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
The universe consists of the three dimensions we see and the fourth dimension, time. General relativity, a theory of gravity, is based on the curvature of space. Mass causes the space it is in to bend.
In theory, it is suggested that gravity causes space-time to warp, and these warps affect the flow of time. So far, you may not have thought much about gravity slowing down time, but now let’s take a closer look.
Gravity slowing down time is based on some principles. The first of these is the “effect of gravity”.
According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity; A huge mass warps space-time around it. As masses grow, space-time becomes more curved. So, as you can see, large masses such as a planet or star can distort the time period around them considerably.
Another principle of ours is “the flow of time”.
If there is a stronger gravitational field, time will be slower. It is faster if gravity is weak. In other words, in a curved space-time, the flow of time also changes.
To summarize: According to the theory of general relativity, gravity warps space-time, which affects the flow of time. This is how gravity slows down time.
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