Name: KEY **Please refer to the last page for video links

Time Dilation: It’s all Relative……Literally!

Time is something that seems to be the most constant thing in our lives. We wake up the
same time for school or work each day, the seasons change and our birthdays come and go.
We can predict the next solar eclipse and how old we will be when it happens. It is easy to
measure and can be broken down into smaller and smaller units. And yet, it is all relative!

As it turns out, the faster you move the slower time is! That might sound crazy, but it’s true!
Analyze the graph below:

For the purposes of the graph a Time Dilation

of 1 would equal the relativistic time that we
experience, this is where we start the graph.

The more time is dilated the more stretched it

is. This means time moves slower as it dilates.

1. How does the Time Dilation change as

your speed increases? Time Dilation increase
with speed. (faster speed slower time)

2. Traveling 30% of the speed of light (which is

about 56,000 mile per second!) do you think that
you would notice much of a time dilation? NO (yes or no)

3. On what basis did you choose your answer to #2? At 30% (x-axis) the Time Dilation is still
very close to 1.
Let’s break down the formula and make sure that it all makes sense before we do the math.

t’ = the time for the observer on Earth

t= the time for the person moving (or spaceship)
v= speed the person is traveling
c= the speed of light

To simplify the calculation we can write v as a fraction of the speed of light. For instance, if
one was traveling at 80% the speed of light for 60 seconds we can write 0.8c to represent the
speed (v).

Notice that since we have written 0.8c we can have the c’s cancel
out as shown to the left.

Next we can square the velocity and subtract by 1 and see the steps
to the left to finish the equation.

Now that we have an example, we can use this as a guide to help us with the problems on the
next page. We can see how twins will age differently based on their speed.
4. Mary and Sarah are 30 year old twins and both work for NASA. Mary has no interest in
ever getting in a rocket ship and works in Mission Control. Sarah is a pilot and has been
given the opportunity to join a crew on a mission to Sirius; the brightest star in our night sky.

Sarah travels at 95% the speed of light to Sirius and back and is gone for 18 years. Mary is
now 48 years old and cannot wait for Sarah to come back. Let’s figure out how old Sarah will
be when she comes back by figuring out how much she has aged on the journey.

t’ = 18 yrs v= 0.95c
Remember, the c’s will cancel out!

Use the work space in the box provided to show

your work and please use a pencil!

Helpful hint: Instead of writing v2/c2 we can simply write (%v)2 since c cancels out anyway.

Please be aware that students need to know their mathematical order of operations to complete these
problems successfully. When you see the radical or square root symbol √ all the number that
follow are within the radical. Order of operations must be followed within it first.
The symbol / shows division. The separation of the numerator and denominator as shown on pg.2.

Step 1. 1= t / √1-(0.95)² Step 2. 18= t/ √1-.9025 Step 3. 18 = t/ √.0975

Step 4. 18= t/ .3122 Step 5. Cross Multiply so solve for t t= 18(.3122)

t = 5.6 yrs

Sarah will be gone for 5.6 yrs and will be ~35.6 yrs old when she returns.

5. The twins are no longer the same age! When reunited on Earth Sarah will be 35.6 years
old while Mary will be 48√.
6. Let’s do a similar problem with Mary and Sarah only this time we will use a much more
“reasonable” speed. If Sarah travels at 10% the speed of light (still a ridiculous 62,000,000
mph and way beyond our current capabilities) to Sirius she would be gone for 175 years! On
Earth, Mary would be long gone at 205 years old. How old would Sarah be assuming she was
still alive?
Step 1. 175= t/ √1- (.1)² Step 2. 175= t/√1-.01
Step 3. 175= t/ √.99 Step 4. 175= t/ .995
Step 5. Cross Multiply to solve for t t= 175(.995)

t= 174.1

Sarah will be gone for 174.1 yrs and will be 204 yrs old when she returns.

Traveling at 10% the speed of light was very fast but still way too slow to get to Sirius and
back in a human lifetime!

7. What was the age difference between the twins after Sarah traveled at 95% the speed of
light? ~12.5yrs. What was the age difference when she went much slower at 10% the speed
of light? 0.9yrs (about 1 year)

Conclusion:
8. How does the speed of the spaceship affect time? As the ship moves faster, time moves
slower.
What if an astronaut was traveling at 100% the speed of light? How is time affected now?
Let’s see:

If v= 100%c we would write that as 1.0c, or simply c.

9. How old will Sarah be if she travels at the speed of light to Sirius and back and is gone for
17.2 Earth years?

t’= 17.2 years (remember she is moving faster than in #5 and is home sooner)
v= 1.0c

Step 1. 17.2= t/ √1-(1)² Step 2. 17.2= t/√1-1

Step 3. 17.2 = t/ √0 Step 4. 17.2 = t/0 Anything over 0 is 0

t=0

10. How many years will Sarah age? 0 yrs. How old is Sarah when she gets back 30 years
old.

11. How old is Mary when Sarah gets back? 47.2 year. (30 plus 17.2)

Conclusion:
12. What happens to time when traveling the speed of light? It stops!
It is not only speed that affect time. Gravity affect time
as well, this is known as Gravitational Time Dilation. In
this case a stronger gravitational field will slow time
down. Here on Earth we are, of course, standing on an
entire planet therefore for us time moves slower than
when off Earth.
Sounds crazy? It does, but it is true and has been
proven. Highly accurate atomic clocks have been flown
on airplanes after they have been synchronized with
atomic clocks on the surface. The result? The clocks on
the surface ran slightly slower than the ones on the
airplane. This was a measureable amount and was the
expected outcome.
This is incredibly important to know when using GPS satellites. As these satellites orbit they
are, of course, in space and off Earth. This means that time will move slightly faster for the
satellites and this needs to be adjusted for accordingly so that everything works perfectly. If
we did not account for Gravitation Time Dilation our GPS could not accurately determine
where you are. Thank you Einstein!
The formula is similar to the one we used for time dilation regarding speed:

The formula should look somewhat familiar but with some new variables.
G is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2 on Earth) and M is the mass.

13. With speed we saw that the faster you move the slower time moves. What is the
relationship between the strength of gravity and time? Increase gravity, decrease time. Or
times slows with more gravity.

14. Jupiter has 318 times more mass than Earth. Would time near the surface of Jupiter run
slower or faster? Slower How do you know? Jupiter has more gravity.

15. Time dilation was rather negligible until the speed approaches almost 80% that of light or
more. We see the same thing with gravitational time dilation. Can you think of an object that
would allow for time to run so slowly that it almost seems to never change?
Black holes, Neutron Star
Why did you choose this object? They have incredible gravity.
Here are some video links if you would like to have things explained more deeply!

1.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzQC3uYL67U
“General Relativity Explained Simply and Visually” 14min

2.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJhgZBn-LHg “How Earth Moves” 21mins.

A more technical look at time on earth.

3.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BqJ8Fxco2E
Time travel conversation with a scientist 26 min