Tag: GPS

GPS uses relativity for accuracy

Superfact 23: GPS uses relativity for accuracy. Global Positioning Systems or GPS uses Special Relativity and General Relativity to guide you to your destination. In fact, GPS systems would be rendered useless without the Theories of Relativity.

Businessman finger pin for location points and search addresses on the world map application. Marking destination for travel or finding business places in GPS Satellite coordinates system online web | GPS uses relativity for accuracy
Stock Photo ID: 2502019165 by mayam_studio

Did you use Einstein’s Theories of Relativity to get to the grocery store today?

The theories of relativity may seem strange and impractical, something you only use for astrophysics, black holes, cosmology and extreme velocities. They feature strange concepts such as time dilation, the stretching and bending of space, events simultaneous to some are not to others, the universal constancy of the speed of light in vacuum, the energy and mass equivalency, etc. 

Therefore, it is a bit surprising that without the theories of relativity the GPS app on your phone would not be able to guide you to the grocery store. That’s why I call it a super fact that GPS uses relativity for accuracy.

Space satellite orbiting the Earth. 3D rendering
Stock Illustration ID: 1372134458 by Boris Rabtsevich

GPS and Time Dilation

GPS is a satellite-based  radio navigation system that provides location information and time anywhere on Earth. It is amazingly accurate. The basic GPS service provides users with approximately 7.0-meter accuracy, 95% of the time, anywhere on or near the surface of the earth.

The fact that the information is provided by satellites that orbit earth at high speeds and high above earth’s surface makes General Relativity and Special Relativity necessary. The GPS system needs to calculate precisely the time it takes for signals to travel from the satellites to a receiver on Earth for it to work. GPS satellites travel at high speeds causing a large enough time dilation that must be accounted for. In addition, they orbit earth high above earth’s surface where earth’s gravitational field is weaker than on earth’s surface. Clocks run faster in weaker gravitational fields due to gravitational time dilation, so you must correct that as well.

If you ignore relativity, you will accumulate a discrepancy of six miles in one day.  You are not going to find the grocery store that way, unless you use the old-fashioned method of reading a map. In a sense, if your GPS device finds the grocery store for you, you have proven Einstein right.

Below is a YouTube video animation visualizing the GPS system.

GPS Facts

  • The GPS project was started by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973. It is also owned by the U.S. Department of Defense.
  • The GPS satellites were sent up by the United States Air Force (and not NASA).
  • The first NAVSTAR satellite, later called GPS, was launched in 1978.
  • There are 31 GPS satellites currently in orbit.
  • The system requires 24 GPS satellites.
  • The 24-satellite system became fully operational in 1993.
  • The Global Positioning System cost (the US government) $1.8 billion annually to operate and maintain.
  • The Global Positioning System is free to use for the public worldwide.
  • Making GPS free to civilians worldwide was a decision by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 after a Korean airliner was shot down for straying off course.
  • GPS satellites carry extremely accurate atomic clocks. As explained, GPS must account for relativity, special relativity as well as General Relativity.
  • Other satellite systems help improve GPS, including WAAS (in the U.S.), EGNOS (in Europe), and MSAS (in Japan).
  • GPS is not the only satellite navigation system. Other countries have their own satellite navigation systems. GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (EU), and BeiDou (China).
  • Ukraine is helped by both GPS and Galileo.
  • Russian forces have been actively jamming GPS signals in Ukraine.

Uses of GPS

  • Examples of consumer electronics that use GPS are smart phones, tablets, Smartwatches, Car navigation systems, Cameras (DSLR with GPS), some models of laptops, fitness trackers (Fitbit), and drones.
  • Examples of vehicles using GPS are cars, delivery vans, trucks, aircraft, trains, ships and boats.
  • Military uses of GPS include guided missiles, guided munitions, tactical radios, communication systems, soldier-worn devices for location tracking, military vehicles and military aircraft.
  • Additional examples of GPS use include construction equipment for site positioning and machine guidance,  tractors for precision farming and other agricultural machinery, surveying equipment, pipeline inspection drones, other inspection drones and rovers, emergency locator beacons, pet trackers, smart collars, livestock monitoring, personal trackers, and geocaching devices.

As you can see, GPS is extremely useful, and there are a lot of interesting facts about GPS.

To see the other Super Facts click here