Home > Terms > English (EN) > space-time

space-time

A term used to denote the geometry of the physical universe as suggested by the theory of relativity. It is also called space-time continuum. Whereas in newtonian physics space and time had been considered quite separate entities, A. Einstein and H. Minkowski showed that they are actually intimately intertwined. I. Newton's ideas on space and time are summarized in the following list:

  1. Given two events, each of which is clearly localized in space and lasts only for an instant in time, such as two strokes of lightning striking small targets, all observers of the events will be in agreement as to which of the two events took place earlier in time, or whether they were actually simultaneous.
  2. If the events were not simultaneous, the interval of time between them is an absolute entity, agreed on by all competent observers.
  3. The spatial distance between two simultaneous events is an absolute entity, agreed on by all competent observers.

0
Collect to Blossary

Member comments

You have to log in to post to discussions.

Terms in the News

Billy Morgan

Sports; Snowboarding

The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...

Marzieh Afkham

Broadcasting & receiving; News

Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...

Weekly Packet

Language; Online services; Slang; Internet

Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Banking; Investment banking

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...

Spartan

Online services; Internet

Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...

Featured Terms

Akins
  • 0

    Terms

  • 4

    Blossaries

  • 2

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Law Category: US law

guilty until proven innocent

A new U.S. law that authorizes the seizure of website domains by the U.S. government on grounds of suspected copyright violations. The seizure is ...