Abstract

Time transfer from a GPS satellite to a receiver fixed on the surface of the rotating Earth is investigated. Using experimentally confirmed GPS light signal transfer time and a simple kinematic calculation, light speed variation is demonstrated for light travelling between the satellite and the ground-based receiver. This variable speed is also determined using classical principles applied to light transmission relative to the terrestrial receiver moving as a result of the rotating Earth, all within the Earth-Centred Inertial (ECI) frame. These results produce the accurate time transfer algorithm without any correction and lead to the re-interpretation of the “Sagnac correction” considered by the ITU to be a necessary time correction in GPS time transfer. They also lead to a revision of the Lorentz Transformations that yields the Selleri Transformations which better accord with the observed light speed variation and confirmed relativistic phenomena in the physical world.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.