When traveling at high speeds, the phenomenon of time dilation occurs due to the principles of special relativity proposed by Albert Einstein. Time dilation means that time appears to pass differently for objects moving relative to each other at different speeds.
To account for time dilation, you can use the time dilation equation derived from special relativity:
Δt' = Δt * √(1 - v^2/c^2)
Where: Δt' is the time experienced by the moving object (traveler) Δt is the time measured by an observer at rest (stationary observer) v is the relative velocity between the two frames of reference c is the speed of light in a vacuum (approximately 299,792,458 meters per second)
According to the equation, as the relative velocity v increases, the factor inside the square root becomes smaller, resulting in a greater time dilation effect. When v approaches the speed of light (c), the denominator of the equation becomes zero, indicating that time dilation becomes infinitely large, and the concept of time itself becomes undefined.
It's important to note that time dilation is a relative effect. Both the observer at rest and the moving traveler will observe time passing normally in their respective frames of reference. It is only when they compare their clocks after the journey that they will notice a discrepancy in the elapsed time.
Time dilation has been experimentally confirmed and is a crucial factor to consider in high-speed travel, especially in scenarios such as space exploration or when dealing with extremely accurate measurements and technologies like GPS systems.