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Questions tagged [spacetime]

As a consequence of the Lorentz transformations, time and space transform into each other when changing reference frame. This calls for a unified description: Minkowski spacetime.

Term introduced by Herman Minkowki to describe the ontological status of space and time in the theory of special relativity and subsequently also in general relativity and more modern theories.

As a consequence of the Lorentz transformations, time and space transform into each other when changing reference frame. This calls for a unified description: Minkowski spacetime.

The term has outgrown its original context, and is now used in other theories.

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Could a finite amount of space in the universe exist without time?

Is it possible that a finite amount of space in the universe exists without time? Namely, that it is possible for us to find an element of space that has no time (everything happened at one point and it does not change)?
tesgoe
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Why mass can distort spacetime?

Ok I knew nothing about the definition of mass but I do know that mass can be converted into energy and vice versa. And I read that anything that have stress, energy and momentum will bend spacetime, what about mass, how does it affects the…
user6760
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The creation of time in the early universe

I have seen roger Penrose video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM47acQ7pEQ. In it explains that time origins are related to the rise of mass in the early universe. In the video it relates mass from Enstein E=MC^2 to planks equation E= HF (F stands…
Barnaby
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Planck length implies lattice structure of space?

There is known to be a lower limit on space, which can be derived from the Planck units. It can describe the minimum distance resolvable between two points; but what then would the structure of space look like? Would it be a lattice, where each…
user26561
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If light travels along null-like geodesics, does that mean it remains at the same point on a spacetime manifold?

I know my question doesn't make sense all ready. Suppose I have points $(0,0,0,0)$ and $(1,1,0,0)$. The distance traveled is zero since $ds^2 = 0$ in this case. And light has moved from one point to another. And since these two points are distinct,…
Stan Shunpike
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What are the possible candidates for entities which are more fundamental than spacetime?

Many physicists now believe that there are more fundamental entities than spacetime. I would like to know if this is at this point an educated guess or do we know possible candidates which replace spacetime or from which spacetime appears…
prateek
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Does in theory spacetime holds all the data of everything?

A Question that is bothering me lately. In my mind spacetime has been in contact with all existing particles and continues to be in contact. If mass bends spacetime then in quantum scale no matter how small it is there is got to be bend in spacetime…
Ray Luxembourg
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Does the Relative Velocity Time Dilation of an object multiply the Gravitational Time Dilation of the object?

A moving object in free space would experience time dilation from relative velocity. A stationary object inside the gravity well of a black hole would experience time dilation from gravity. A moving object inside the gravity well of a black hole…
Jason Williams
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Is the concept of "spacetime" just a way for us to make peace with what we observe, or does it provide insight into what's "actually" going on?

Is the concept of "spacetime" just a way for us to make peace with what we observe, or does it provide insight into what's actually going on?
Yogi DMT
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What is anti-time?

I've been trying to wrap my mind around the concept of anti-time and wondered what it is. If there is anti-matter and anti-gravity, does time have its negative? Your help is appreciated.
Alex
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Is it correct to state that some places in the universe are ahead of us in time?

Without getting into what happens at the center of a black hole, I think it's correct to describe objects that come close to the singularity as being propelled forward in time faster than those further from that singularity. So - from the…
Yevgeny Simkin
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Does the idea of the Big Bounce include the reversal of time?

If spacetime is a single enitity, and the Big Bounce is the idea that space itself will collapse back in on itself, does that mean that time will collapse back in on itself? And... what does that look like?
blacktopshaman
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Is it Possible to Substitute Time for a Dimension of Space and See no Change?

Put into more words, to my knowledge we see 3 dimensions of space moving through a 4th dimension of time. My thought then is that if there was a hypothetical creature/device that could see time via replacing one of the spatial axes with time, let´s…
JohnIsBueno
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What does it mean for a physical object to have size?

When I think about describing what it means for something to have a certain size, I keep running into tautological explanations: An object has size if you can compare its size to something else (that has size) An object is large if it is bigger…
quant
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Has there ever been an experiment that has manipulated the scale of spacetime?

From my layman's understanding of Hubble's law, the spacetime between 2 celestial objects 1,000,000 parsecs apart has been observed to increase at a rate of about 73 km/s. Extrapolating from this, on a much smaller scale the spacetime over a…
Mike
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