Science: Fountain of Youth

Not only did time seem to pass slowly for Astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell aboard Gemini 7 last month. Time actually slowed down for them, says Rice University Space Science Professor Robert C. Haymes. While orbiting the earth for 330 hours, figures Haymes, the astronauts aged a thousandth of a second less than men on earth.

Haymes calculated Gemini 7's time slowdown by using a formula from Einstein's 1905 Special Theory of Relativity. According to the theory's "time dilation effect"—which has since proved true for high-velocity nuclear particles —time slows down for an object as its speed increases. At Gemini 7's...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!