Name: How does your smartphone know your location?
Uploaded: 2019-04-05T19:56:11Z
Duration: 4 min 48 s
Description: GPS location apps on a smartphone can be very handy when mapping a travel route or finding nearby events. But how does your smartphone know where you are? Wilton L. Virgo explains how the answer lies 12,000 miles over your head, in an orbiting satellite that keeps time to the beat of an atomic clock powered by quantum mechanics. [Directed by Nick Hilditch, narrated by Addison Anderson].

Wilton L. Virgo: How does your smartphone know your location?

How does your smartphone know your location?

GPS location apps on a smartphone can be very handy when mapping a travel route or finding nearby events. But how does your smartphone know where you are? Wilton L. Virgo explains how the answer lies 12,000 miles over your head, in an orbiting satellite that keeps time to the beat of an atomic clock powered by quantum mechanics. [Directed by Nick Hilditch, narrated by Addison Anderson].

Every time a smartphone pinpoints its location, it relies on satellites 12,000 miles above, synchronizing time using atomic clocks powered by quantum mechanics. These clocks are so precise, they would not lose or gain a single second in 300 million years. By measuring how long radio signals take to travel from multiple satellites, and using Einstein’s relativity, GPS can locate a device to within a few dozen feet. This remarkable system blends quantum leaps, atomic oscillations, and a global satellite network to map the world in real time.