 
 
 
In addition to the ``ordinary'' redshifts of distant stars caused by
the relativistic Doppler shift due to the fact that they are actually receding
from the observer on Earth, there is a  graviational redshift of
the light from  near  a large mass M when observed
from a position  far  from the source, even if the source and observer
are at rest relative to one another. This is not too surprising if we recall
that a gravitational field has to be indistinguishable from an accelerated
reference frame, and an accelerated object cannot be at rest for long!
But an easier way to see the result is to remember that a massless particle
like a  photon still has an  effective mass  where (if I may borrow a hitherto undemonstrated result from  quantum
mechanics)
where (if I may borrow a hitherto undemonstrated result from  quantum
mechanics)  for a photon. Here
for a photon. Here  is the  frequency  of the light and
is the  frequency  of the light and  J-s  is  Planck's constant. Anyway, if the energy of a photon
far from M is
 J-s  is  Planck's constant. Anyway, if the energy of a photon
far from M is  (at
(at  ) then
its effective mass there is
) then
its effective mass there is  and as the photon ``falls'' toward M it should pick up kinetic
energy until at a finite distance r its energy is
and as the photon ``falls'' toward M it should pick up kinetic
energy until at a finite distance r its energy is  where the new effective mass is
where the new effective mass is  .
Thus
.
Thus  and
if we collect the terms proportional to E we get
 and
if we collect the terms proportional to E we get  where
where  . Dividing
through by
. Dividing
through by  gives the formula for the  gravitational redshift,
gives the formula for the  gravitational redshift, 

 (I have fudged in that extra factor of 2 that turns  into the correct  Schwarzschild radius
into the correct  Schwarzschild radius  ).
This derivation is completely bogus, of course, but it does indicate why
there is a gravitational redshift.
).
This derivation is completely bogus, of course, but it does indicate why
there is a gravitational redshift. 
Given that any mechanism for generating electromagnetic waves constitutes a ``clock'' of sorts, the waves emitted by such a device constitute a signal from it telling distant observers about the passage of time at the origin. (Think of each wave crest as a ``tick'' of the clock.) The very existence of a gravitational redshift therefore implies that time passes slower for the clock that is closer to the mass - a result that was referred to earlier without proof.
 
 
 
