spacetime
See also: space-time
English
the 'fabric' of spacetime
Alternative forms
Etymology
From space + time, as a calque of German Raumzeit, introduced in this sense by Hermann Minkowski. First appears in print c. 1893 in the Philosophical Review.
Noun
spacetime (countable and uncountable, plural spacetimes)
- (uncountable, physics) The four-dimensional continuum of the three spatial dimensions plus time.
- An event is a point in spacetime, specified by the coordinates x, y, z, and t.
- (physics) An n-dimensional continuum consisting of dimensions of both space and time. Normally spacetime is considered as having 4 dimensions (x, y, z, t), but higher-dimensional spacetimes are often encountered in theoretical physics, e.g. the 5-dimensional spacetime of Kaluza-Klein theory or the 11 dimensions of spacetime in M-theory.
- a 5-dimensional spacetime
- (relativity) A specific region of the universe with mathematically different properties than the surrounding spacetime. Synonymous with "metric" within the context of general relativity.
- a Schwarzschild spacetime
- a Reissner-Nordström spacetime
Coordinate terms
See also
Derived terms
- absolute space-time
- spacetime metric
- spacetime physics
- spacetime singularity
Translations
four dimensional continuum
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