How GPS Proves Einstein Was Right

You probably used GPS today, whether it was your phone guiding you to a coffee shop or your car finding the fastest route home. But here’s the wild part: without Einstein’s theories of relativity, GPS simply wouldn’t work. Seriously. A technology most of us use every day silently relies on mind-bending physics that warps time itself.

Here’s why: GPS satellites orbit about 12,500 miles above Earth and carry incredibly precise atomic clocks. But according to Einstein’s theory of special relativity, those clocks tick slower than clocks on Earth because the satellites are moving so fast (roughly 14,000 km/h). At the same time, general relativity predicts that those same clocks tick faster than those on Earth because they’re farther from Earth’s gravitational pull. Both effects are small, but together they add up to about 38 microseconds per day. That may not sound like much, but without correcting for it, your GPS location would be off by several miles.

Engineers actually have to program relativistic corrections into the GPS system so the satellites and your phone stay synchronized. In other words, every time your map app gives you the correct turn, it’s quietly affirming that Einstein’s equations, written over a century ago, still shape the technology of today.

So the next time you don’t get lost thanks to GPS, give a nod to relativity. Einstein wasn’t just dreaming up abstract math; he was laying the foundation for the future!