Finding your place in the world has gotten a lot easier in the last few decades. With the help of your phone, you can now find out your position on the earth at any given time with ease.
With many apps offering helpful tools, you can learn more about geography, how to find your position on the earth using advanced technology, and how to adjust for time changes when traveling.
With all of these technologies relying on GPS signals to determine your position, it is important to understand how they work and their limitations.
How does GPS work? How accurate is it? What are some alternatives that you can use if need be? These are all questions that we will answer for you here.
The speed of the chair around you
As you read this in your chair, how fast are you moving relative to the chair?
Well, obviously you’re not moving at all relative to the chair. You’re sitting on it! But let’s imagine that somehow you were able to sit on a constantly moving chair that moved at a constant speed.
How could you tell how fast the chair was moving? You could measure how long it took for something to happen. For example, it would take one hour for the sun to rise and set. Or it would take an hour to get from one side of the room to the other.
But what if the room itself was also rotating? How would you tell which way was down? Well, if you had a very accurate clock, then after an hour, it would say that an hour had passed, so down must be that way.
Relativity is hard to understand
We’ve already mentioned that relativity is one of the most difficult physics concepts for people to grasp. That’s because it deals with very complicated physics equations that take years to master.
Even physicists who have worked on projects that rely on Einstein’s theories have admitted they don’t fully understand his ideas. For example, NASA astronaut and physicist Kenneth Bowers said he didn’t fully understand the concept offrame-relativity until he was in training for the mission.
Many people have tried to explain the basics of relativity in simple terms, so if you want to learn more about it, you can search online or read some books.
Try moving in a circle with a friend
Another way to get a feel for the Earth’s rotation is to try moving in a circle with a friend. As you both move in the circle, try keeping each other in sight while also keeping track of your own movement.
If you both kept moving in the circle for an hour, you would find that you had moved quite a bit relative to each other and the ground. You would have also covered quite a bit of ground relative to the surrounding area.
The person moving faster would notice that they had moved further relative to the ground and other person. The slower person would feel like they were standing still, since they are not consciously aware of their own movement.
The Earth’s rotation makes it seem like we are standing still, but we are actually moving along with the planet. This is what makes it possible for us to see things that are far away.
Using a clock mounted on the wall
The second hand on the clock is a marker for how many seconds have passed since the last time the second hand passed a marker.
Depending on how often the second hand ticks, it can be considered to move faster or slower. For example, if a clock has a fast-moving second hand, it means that in one second, it ticks more times than a slower-moving second hand does.
The problem with this is that we rely on the clock to show the correct time. If one second on this clock is longer or shorter than one second on another clock, then we have a problem!
To solve this problem, we use something called International Atomic Time. IAT is a very precise time standard that clocks around the world use to calibrate their clocks against.
Using your phone’s GPS
Another way to determine your location is via the Global Positioning System, more commonly known as GPS. Your phone most likely has a built-in GPS, and many apps use your phone’s GPS to locate you.
Many apps use your phone’s GPS to locate you, but how do they know where you are?
The app uses your location to track how far you have moved. It then sends this information to a server where it is processed. The server then compares this movement to previous movements and determines what city or town you are in based on the average movements for that area.
This is done by using what is called Cartesian coordinates, which are based on the x-, y-, and z-axis.
Looking at the stars
Another interesting way to understand our place in the universe is to look at the stars. How do we know what constellations are?
We use satellites to take pictures of the whole sky and determine what shapes the stars make when put together.
These shapes have been passed down through generations, with each culture having their own constellation stories that go with them. Some scholars research these stories to learn more about ancient cultures and their understanding of the sky.
Satellite images also show us how the universe is expanding. By looking at distant galaxies and seeing how they move, researchers can tell that everything around us is moving away. This is known as cosmic expansion.
It is hard to imagine this, so again, looking at the sky can help us understand this concept.
Measuring the length of an object with a ruler
A ruler is a common measuring device that is used to measure the length of an object. You may have one in your kitchen or in your classroom, most people seem to have one around.
A ruler has markings on it that can be used to determine the length of something. These markings are called units and there are usually five of them: centimeter (cm), millimeter (mm), micron (μ), nanometer (nm), and picometer (pm).
Depending on the ruler, some of these units may not be present. For example, a one-inch ruler will not have microns or picometers marked on it, only centimeters, millimeters, and inches.
To find the length of an object using a ruler, you must first find a starting point where you know the length. Then you can measure the remaining parts using the other units on the ruler until you reach the starting point again. The number of units needed to reestablish the starting point is the length of the object.
Counting steps with a pedometer
Another way to track your movement is to count your steps. Most smart phones have a feature that allows you to count your steps.
Many fitness trackers also have this feature. Some even include a GPS so that you can see how far you’ve traveled.
By counting your steps, you can get a general idea of how active you are during the day. This can be difficult, however, because there is no universal definition of a step.
Someone from America may take longer walks than someone from China, for example, but both of these people may count as one step because they both have similar walking patterns.
This makes it hard to gather accurate data on the number of steps taken per day because there isn’t a standard length of a step.
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