Gravity Bends Time Too

General relativity revealed something even stranger than speed-based time dilation: gravity also slows time. The stronger the gravitational field, the slower time passes, so a clock near Earth's surface ticks slower than one high above it.

The effect grows extreme near a black hole. Close to the event horizon, gravity is so intense that, to a distant observer, time nearly grinds to a halt — a falling clock would appear to slow forever and freeze rather than cross over. Same law as the tiny shift in your pocket, pushed to its limit.