- #1
Micheth
- 79
- 2
That is to say, how does time behave in a region of space where multiple gravitational fields cancel out their accelerating effects?
I understand that time "slows down" in a gravitational field, but does this depend on the actual presence of the field, or instead the actual net acceleration caused by different fields? The most simple example of this case might be placing a "clock" at the center of a massive body such as the Earth, where I suppose you have no net acceleration, since it is being equally accelerated outward in all directions. So, in such a case, is time still going to be dilated, or would time flow be at the same "rate" as that of a body in empty space with no acceleration?
(If the latter is true, I imagine time dilation being maximum at the surface of the massive body, and gradually reducing to zero toward the center. If not, I imagine it gradually increasing from the surface toward some maximum at the center. Which would be the actual case?)
I understand that time "slows down" in a gravitational field, but does this depend on the actual presence of the field, or instead the actual net acceleration caused by different fields? The most simple example of this case might be placing a "clock" at the center of a massive body such as the Earth, where I suppose you have no net acceleration, since it is being equally accelerated outward in all directions. So, in such a case, is time still going to be dilated, or would time flow be at the same "rate" as that of a body in empty space with no acceleration?
(If the latter is true, I imagine time dilation being maximum at the surface of the massive body, and gradually reducing to zero toward the center. If not, I imagine it gradually increasing from the surface toward some maximum at the center. Which would be the actual case?)