Abstract
The one-way speed of light relative to a moving observer is determined using the range equation of the Global Positioning System. This equation has been rigorously tested and verified in the Earth-Centred Inertial frame where light signals propagate in straight lines at constant speed c. The result is a simple demonstration of light speed anisotropy that is consistent with light speed anisotropy detected in other experiments and inconsistent with the principle of light speed constancy. This light speed anisotropy was not observed before because there has been no direct one-way measurement of light speed relative to a moving observer.
Highlights
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a modern measurement system with accurate synchronized atomic clocks that enable precise navigation on the Earth (Xu, 2007)
Elementary analysis involving the rigorously verified range equation of the GPS was used to determine the one-way speed of light in the Earth-Centered Inertial (ECI) frame between a point fixed in the ECI frame and an observer moving at constant speed v relative to the ECI frame
While in GPS navigation these measured times are used in the range equation to determine position, in this paper known positions xA, xB and xB were used in the range equation to determine time in the form of elapsed time in (7) and (13)
Summary
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a modern measurement system with accurate synchronized atomic clocks that enable precise navigation on the Earth (Xu, 2007). Using elapsed time measurements determined by these synchronized GPS clocks and the light speed value c, Equation (1) allows accurate determination of the instantaneous position of objects which are stationary or moving on the surface of the Earth It has been extensively and rigorously tested and verified and the system’s very successful operation has resulted in the world-wide proliferation of GPS technology. Spavieri (2012) recently proposed a new method for one-way light speed determination but this has not been tested In this regard, light speed anisotropy induced by the Earth’s rotational motion has been directly demonstrated for East-West light travel using the synchronized clocks of the GPS (Marmet, 2000; Kelly, 2005; Gift, 2010a). We use the range equation to directly evaluate the one-way speed of light relative to an observer moving uniformly in the ECI frame, the light emanating from a source fixed in that frame
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