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Equation 56 · The Bend an Elevator Cannot Fake

What does this equation mean?

ϕ:=W/c2\phi := W/c^2

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Inputs and operationsW/c^2
Result or conditionphi :
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This equation states an equality: the expressions on both sides have the same value under the article’s assumptions. Read the equation part by part below; each part has a contextual explanation and a link to its mathematical background.

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ϕ\phi

Symbol phi

the folding it into the node potential.

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WW

Symbol W

the because.

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c2c^2

Symbol c^2

The square of c: multiply c by itself.

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=

=

The expressions on both sides represent the same quantity under the stated assumptions.

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superscript

superscript

A raised number can be a power. When it is a label or bound, it selects a case or the upper limit of a sum; the formula’s structure distinguishes these uses.

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How to interpret it

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What the article says around this equation

Real terrestrial clocks are not simply static; they corotate with Earth, and their genuinely single-valued potential is the geopotential W(x\mathbf x) := Φgrav(x)\Phi_{\rm grav}(\mathbf x) - 12\tfrac12|Ω\boldsymbol\Omega ×\times r\mathbf r|^2 , gravitational potential combined with the centrifugal term for Earth’s rotation rate Ω\boldsymbol\Omega . Because W is a smooth, single-valued function of position in the corotating frame for any fixed Ω\Omega , folding it into the node potential ϕ\phi := W/c2c^2 preserves exact loop closure for any network of clocks that are themselves at rest relative to the rotating Earth — precisely the convention already standard in relativistic geodesy [ 4 , 3 ] .

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