Clock Synchronisation in Inertial Frames and Gravitational Fields

Abstract

The special relativistic test theory of Mansouri and Sexl is sketched. Theories based on different clock synchronisations are found to be equivalent to special relativity, as regards experimental results. The conventionality of clock synchronisation is shown not to hold, by means of an example, in a simple accelerated system and through the principle of equivalence in gravitational fields, especially when the metric is not static. Experimental implications on very precise clock synchronisation on earth are discussed.