Watch Out For This: Scientists Prove Time Dilation Effect

Watch Out For This: Scientists Prove Time Dilation Effect

As per Einstein's special relativity theory, time can slow down for a traveller on a high speed rocket. This time dilation effect has been proved by scientists beyond doubt to a very high level of accuracy. Past research had only focused on observations of celestial bodies or precise atomic clocks. The latest study has used lithium ions which had been accelerated to as high as a third of the speed of light. This means a speed of 223,540,000 miles per hour.

For conducting this test, Benjamin Botermann of Johannes Gutenberg-University in Germany along with his research colleagues and fellow scientists studied the Doppler shift in lithium ions accelerated in an Experimental Storage Link located at Darmstadt in Germany.

The Doppler shift refers to the change in frequency that comes about according to relative motion. Accordingly, it increases if the source and observer move towards each other and vice versa. The research team led by Bottermann stimulated toe 2 electrons in the lithium ions with the aid of 2 lasers firing in the direction which is opposite to that of the motion of the ions. The shift in the frequencies of the laser compared to that of the ions at rest yielded findings imperative for the measurement of time.

The difference that is present between the frequencies of the stationary and excited ions provided proof regarding the occurrence of time dilation. It was found that the closer the ions approached the speed of light, the slower was the passage of time for them.

Media reports are now talking about the new thrust given to the time dilation effect by Botterman's research. This study has verified a fundamental predication of Einstein's special theory of relativity. The scientists created a moving clock by exciting lithium ions to a third of the speed of light which they then compared to a stationary clock. The results were overwhelmingly in support of the time dilation effect.

"It is nearly five times better than our old result and 50 to 100 times better than any other method used by other people to measure relativistic time dilation," research study co-author Gerald Gwinner, a physicist at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada was quoted as saying.

The Experimental Storage Ring which was used tested high speed particles and measurements in the comparison were made as a set of transitions within the lithium as the ions fluctuated in energy levels. The frequency of the transitions were then measured as the ticking of the clock. The stationary clock referred to the transitions in the lithium ions that were not moving.

This has vast implications for space travel. Consider that if the time dilation effect is true, people in high speed rockets will age slower than those on earth. So for those who want to remain not only young at heart, but young as well, space travel just acquired an additional charm.