These talks will be self-contained presentations of mathematical concepts
and theorems. They are intended to be accessible to all mathematics
students. Coffee, tea and drinks will be provided.
1 pm, Tuesday 24th July 2001
S14
The Global Positioning System: An application of general relativity
Dr Leo Brewin
Dept. of Mathematics & Statistics
Monash University
Pure research is a waste of money!
How many times have we heard that sadly misguided statement? One surprising counterexample comes from one of the most esoteric theories of the 20th century, Einstein's theory of relativity. The Global Positioning System is a set of satellites which enables users equipped with a small receiver to accurately determine their position anywhere on the Earth. The success of the GPS rests fundamentally on our understanding of black holes in Einstein's theory of relativity.
In this talk we will present a simple overview of the GPS and the basic
mathematics that underlies its success.