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Equation 118 · Part 6 · The Clock That Comes Back Wrong by Exactly Its Mass

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Δϕclock=2π Δν Δτ≈0.294 rad.\Delta\phi_{\rm clock}=2\pi\,\Delta\nu\,\Delta\tau\approx0.294\ \text{rad}.
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What this part means

Capital delta attached to a quantity marks a difference between two values of that quantity; the article’s sign convention determines the order.

Its job in the formula

Capital delta attached to a quantity marks a difference between two values of that quantity; the article’s sign convention determines the order.

The passage around this formula

The resulting clock phase is Δϕclock=2π Δν Δτ≈0.294 rad\Delta\phi_{\rm clock}=2\pi\,\Delta\nu\,\Delta\tau\approx0.294\ \text{rad}. This, again, is an exact evaluation of a stated formula under stated idealized assumptions — a single-photon clock transition, no recoil, no laser phase, a static height difference held exactly one second — offered as illustrative, not as a report of anything measured. No such experiment has been performed at this scale; it is precisely the regime the cited proposals argue is at the edge of feasibility with current optical-clock coherence and large-scale atom-fountain technology, not a regime already demonstrated.

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Learn the underlying idea

Addition combines quantities; subtraction measures the signed difference between them. Parentheses show what is combined before the rest of the expression is evaluated.

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Sources cited in the article section

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.