Hey everyone, so… this was supposed to be a reply to a question from the esteemed @wary-taru, but the topic turned out to be pretty broad, and in my humble opinion, it doesn’t really fit the “question-answer” format, so I decided to make a separate post. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In case anyone forgot, let me remind you: Timepulse on Atmos works as a local navigation system, kinda like Atmos’s version of Earth’s GPS, and, jumping ahead, I’ll say right away that it seems to work on a similar principle, but, as often happens, a little differently. How exactly? Let’s find out.
How GPS Determines Location
So, before talking about Timepulse, I need to briefly explain GPS, since they should work the same in their most basic principle. As we all know from school, distance = speed * time. For us, this means that if we have a radio signal source whose location is precisely known, then, knowing the speed of light (299,792 km/s - veeery fast! >:D) at which radio waves travel, and the send and receive times of the signal, we can determine the distance to the transmitter. Therefore, if we know the distances to just 3 GPS satellites, then through something called the scary word “trilateration,” we can accurately determine our location on Earth. Okay, we’ve covered GPS, now let’s move on to Timepulse.
How Timepulse Determines Location
So, as we learned, the basic principle of GPS is calculating the distance to a transmitter based on the send and receive times of the signal. And the tower on Terra Glockenchime should perform the exact same function - sending a signal with the send time throughout Atmos so that everyone else can receive it. Now it’s clear why all that clock equipment is on Glockenchime. :D
But, I believe the most attentive of you should have already noticed that GPS needs 3 satellites to determine location, but there’s only 1 tower on Atmos. And, as you’ve probably already guessed, that’s where the difference lies. Now let’s see how this system works.
As with GPS, we need to calculate the distance, only not to a satellite, but to Glockenchime. However, one landmark isn’t enough; we need at least one more. As one, we can use, for example, the direction to the North Pole. So, now that we have the distance to Glockenchime, we can measure the angle between the direction to it and the direction to the North Pole. That will be the second landmark. Thus, through some not-so-complex trigonometry, Atmosian ships can calculate their location. But, as you might have already guessed, there’s one thing in all of this that we just can’t fail to mention. Namely - the accuracy of the measurements.
Atomic Clocks
So, if we measure the distance from the transmitter to the receiver through the travel time of the signal, we need to measure time very accurately, because with such a huge speed as the speed of light, even the slightest inaccuracy will be critical. To accurately measure such quantities, atomic clocks with accuracy down to attoseconds (one billionth of a billionth(!) of a second) are used on Earth. And… I wouldn’t say that the gear-driven equipment on Terra Glockenchime has the same accuracy as atomic clocks, so that gives us the right to assume that the signal sent by Timepulse travels much slower than the speed of light, otherwise the measurement errors would be just huge. And also, it’s worth noting that because not everyone can afford an atomic clock, all civilian GPS receivers, like in phones, are forced to use 4 or more satellites to achieve sufficient accuracy - and, as you’ve probably already guessed, even then it remains not very high. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Limits of Operation
So, since the canon doesn’t talk about the limits of Timepulse’s operation, we can’t say for sure whether it would work or not work at some distance/in some area (except, of course, the Great Expanse). However, judging by the fact that it radiates in all directions, its signal should weaken according to the inverse-square law. That is, if you move 2 times further from the source, the signal will weaken 4 times. Timepulse’s power isn’t reported in the show, but I would say that it can hardly operate beyond a few thousand kilometers. In any case, the canon data allows us to talk about such distances, but this is all, of course, inaccurate. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So… I think I haven’t forgotten anything. Then that’s all for today. Thanks for your attention, bye!
alright i may have jumped the gun a little bit ^^" i'd like to drop both miku of vocaloid fame and xion of kingdom hearts. they were housed in condos 417 and 432 respectively. thank youu ~
SOBS i knew i forgot something!! let's try that again: without prior reservation i'd like to app sothis from fire emblem three houses! application is at /application, and stats can be found at /stats
Welcome to scenic Isola Radiale, Sothis!
You will be housed in TOWNHOUSE 202.
You'll retain use of your telepathy up to thirty minutes per day.
he'd only caught the words from passing lips — that people are acting strangely, affected by something that apparently is not affecting him. that, or he just didn't notice the changes. which seems to be the common thing between them all, so: how is 'normal' supposed to be when it comes to here? whether he was there long enough for anyone to notice his own, he doesn't much care for.
for now, he's more focused on steadying himself on the open boards of the ceiling. there's a few boxes haphazardly placed up here, probably because the shop itself is still under construction, so why it's even somewhat open he's not entirely sure of. requests to retrieve it elicited a groan from him, but it's stuff that's supposed to help, or so the old man says.
hizen missteps, though, as he's about to pick up the box and ends up almost slipping through one of the many gaps of the floor - just narrowly catching himself before he wholly falls through.
in a moment of impulse, she climbed up a tree to rescue a fluffy white kitten, mewing for help. it was simple enough to get up there; she keeps in mind her older brother’s tips, finding the solid branches and footholds as she went up. however, when she got close, the kitten jumped off and landed perfectly, leaving her alone on the branch.
this would have been fine if it weren’t for the fact that, when edelgard tried to climb down, the branch she used as leverage broke.
now, she was the one stuck up the tree.
...what kind of situation was this? she was stuck here and people might see her here. she, even if she wasn’t in the position to inherit the throne, was still an imperial princess. maybe she ought to just jump off, somehow.
precariously, she tries to dangle her legs off the branch... but she had nobody she knows here. if she lands badly, it’s going to be trouble.
with a sigh, she leans back. “what an embarrassment. oh, the words i’d hear from hubert if he saw me in a situation like this.”
something about the person she spots feels familiar, but edelgard can’t say that she actually recognizes them. she tries not to make it a habit to stare, but it was hard. that same tint of green, she has associated to a woman with a blank look on her face, and –
– wait, those clothes. those clothes are too close to the one she had in mind for comfort. with changes, of course, for their different frame; she remembered her teacher quite clearly, and her memories didn’t align with what she sees. however... it has been five long years. who knows what can change, during then?
there wasn’t any denying it at this point, was there? all there’s left is to confirm. with a hesitant voice, she calls out.
@timepulse sent ♣ ( discovering them crying . )
meme - send for my muse’s reaction to ---
a hand covers his mouth, his eyes squeezed shut. the rush is pain that enters his heart too much for him to simply suppress this time. it unpacks from unknown crevices of the mind, flooding him with waves and waves of pain that he doesn’t want to feel. he doesn’t know how to handle them. muffled sounds escape his hands despite efforts to be quiet, muffled cries he prays no one can hear. shameful. unfitting.
and the reason for this? completely immoral. these thoughts should never even have entered his mind. he should be free from these feelings, these thoughts of the one person who attached to him and he, unknowing, attached himself to as well. affection should have disappeared long ago for the sake of their coveted shizun to disciple relationship, but they reappear now of all times with renewed intensity.
a sudden noise makes him snap his head in the direction of the sound, eyes wide and brimming with tears. he uncovers his mouth, his lips stretched into a frown. despite the tears, his face appears fierce, angry even, that he was caught in this moment of weakness. and worse, by someone he recognizes. “what--what are you doing here?” he asks. voice cracks, but recovers quickly. he stands up straight, briskly using his sleeves wiping away the tears. the effort done in vain, as more tears follow, emotions not yet done ravaging his heart and mind.
“go away,” he says, voice quiet, but firm. “and don’t speak about this ever again.” he’s already appeared weak enough, on top of all the other flaws he already revealed. he bites his lower lips, shies his face away, once again wiping away the tears before they can drip onto the floor. phoenix eyes meet byleth’s again -- the eyes of someone utterly broken.
