July 23, 2010

I SUSPECT IT'S A WASH

The Huffington Post makes this claim:

You age more slowly on the ground floor of a building than on the top floor

This is a consequence of Einstein’s theory of gravity, which tells us that time flows more slowly in strong gravity. On the ground floor of a building, you are closer to the center of the Earth than on the top floor, so you are in marginally stronger gravity. Consequently, you grow old more slowly. Of course, it’s a fantastically small effect. Not worth investing in a single-story house!

Well, I'm only passing-familiar with relativity, but I *do* know that time also slows down as you travel faster - which you do when you're FARTHER away from the axis of the earth as it rotates. To maximize this admittedly negligible effect, you should live in a penthouse near the equator.

Not sure which effect is stronger, speed or gravity.

posted by Harvey on July 23, 2010 at 06:19 PM | Permalink | 0 Liars | TrackBack
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