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An orbiting clock experiment to determine the gravitational red shift

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Abstract

Plans are presented for an experiment to measure the gravitational red shift of the Earth by comparing a ground-based and satellite-borne hydrogen maser clock. The limiting accuracy is estimated to yield a determination of the red shift to 1 part in 105, corresponding to a clock stability of 3 parts in 1015.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., USA

    Daniel Kleppner

  2. Hewlett Packard Corporation, Beverly, Mass., USA

    Robert F. C. Vessot

  3. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., USA

    Norman F. Ramsey

Authors
  1. Daniel Kleppner
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  2. Robert F. C. Vessot
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  3. Norman F. Ramsey
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Additional information

This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Kleppner, D., Vessot, R.F.C. & Ramsey, N.F. An orbiting clock experiment to determine the gravitational red shift. Astrophys Space Sci 6, 13–32 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00653616

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00653616

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