What determines how much time is slowed in a gravitational field and why does the Earth orbit the Sun according to general relativity?
Gravitational time dilation is closely related to gravitational redshift, in which the closer a body emitting light of constant frequency is to a gravitating body, the more its time is slowed by gravitational time dilation, and the lower would seem to be the frequency of the emitted light. The lower the gravitational potential (the closer the clock is to the source of gravitation), the slower time passes, speeding up as the gravitational potential increases (the clock moving away from the source of gravitation). General relativity predicts that where gravity is stronger, time passes more slowly. That's called time dilation. Gravity is stronger closer to the center of the Earth. So, according to Einstein, time should pass more slowly closer to the ground. This is the essence of general relativity, which explains the force of gravity as a result of the curvature of spacetime caused by massive objects like the sun.th following a curved path around the sun. The force directed towards the sun that pulls Earth inward is actually the result of the curvature of space-time. Because of this, in Einstein's theory, we cannot say whether the Earth goes round the Sun or the Sun goes round the Earth. It can appear either way, or some other way, depending on what coordinates we choose and how we visualize them.“The Sun orbits the Earth. Gravitational time dilation occurs because objects with a lot of mass create a strong gravitational field. The gravitational field is really a curving of space and time. The stronger the gravity, the more space-time curves, and the slower time itself proceed.
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