Equation 56 · Part 3 · The Bend an Elevator Cannot Fake
Symbol c^2
What this part means
The square of c: multiply c by itself.
Its job in the formula
is an input to the expression that computes the quantity on the left.
Full expression→Symbol c^2→Article meaning
The passage around this formula
Real terrestrial clocks are not simply static; they corotate with Earth, and their genuinely single-valued potential is the geopotential W() := - | |^2 , gravitational potential combined with the centrifugal term for Earth’s rotation rate . Because W is a smooth, single-valued function of position in the corotating frame for any fixed , folding it into the node potential := W/ 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 ] .
Learn the underlying idea
An exponent tells how a base is used in multiplication. In x³, x is the base and 3 is the exponent: x³ = x × x × x.
Open the illustrated exponents: repeated multiplication and powers guide →
See this notation across published equations →
Sources cited in the article section
- [10] Relativity in the Global Positioning System ↗
- [7] Test of Special Relativity Using a Fiber Network of Optical Clocks ↗
- [2] A Lab-Based Test of the Gravitational Redshift with a Miniature Clock Network ↗
These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.