Science · 6 pages · 12 min
How GPS turns time differences into a place
GPS reads how long radio signals took to arrive and turns those delays into distances.
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From the opening
GPS turns time differences into a place by treating each satellite signal as a clock reading sent from a known orbit. The receiver compares the time the signal says it was sent with the time it arrived, and the delay, multiplied by the speed of light, is a distance. The opening covers from a clock delay to a distance, why the distances meet at a place, and what the air does to the time.
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Inside
- From a clock delay to a distance
- Why the distances meet at a place
- What the air does to the time
- Why a bounced signal moves the dot
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- GPS pseudorange and trilateration
- Satellite atomic clocks as the ranging reference