Space-Time

"Einstein made a beautiful machine, but he didn't exactly leave us a user's manual," -Paul M. Stutter, PhD

What exactly is "space-time"?

Before we get into specificities, it is important to note that space-time is only a theory; it does not have the sufficient scientific proof needed to be stated as a fact.

The idea of space and time being a singular concept was first created by Hermann Minkowski, Albert Einstein’s mentor, as a way to refine Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Before this theory, there was deemed to be no connection between space and time. Space was viewed to be three-dimensional, where one could plot points and draw lines on a map. With a three-dimensional continuum, any point of time said to be the "now" (the present) could be regarded as our origin on the graph. Motion went out of control in this uniform-time universe, earning the name "internal reference frames". This Universe was known as a ‘Newtonian Universe’.

In the Minkowski Universe, the coordinate of time in one coordinate system heavily relies on the time and space coordinates of another moving system, based upon “a rule that forms the essential alternation required for Einstein’s special theory of relativity” (Briticanna, 2018). Contradictory to the Newtonian Universe, where it is possible for time to be absolute and repeated, the Minkowski Universe states that time cannot be simultaneous- meaning that there cannot be two points in space with the exact same time.

Space-Time is stressed in Einstein’s famous theory of relativity as four-dimensional, but, unlike the other theories, it also includes gravitational effects. Gravity is regarded as a force in the Newtonian Universe, but in Einstein’s theory, gravity curves space-time, making it warped, contrasted to the Minkowski Universe where everything is flat.

Essentially, Einstein’s theory, regarding the curvature of space and time, can be described as “a sheet of rubber”. When something is placed onto the sheet, it bends around the object, just as what happens to the “fabric” of space in the presence of large objects, such as the sun. The absence of gravity can be described as when the sheet is flat due to there being no mass placed upon it. But it is important to note that while the sheet of rubber is two-dimensional, space-time is four-dimensional, and therefore while it may offer a general understanding of Einstein’s theory, there are more factors to be considered.

“It’s not just warps in space that the sheet represents, but also warps in time.”- LiveSpace.com.

In general, space-time is a four-dimensional continuum that stretches across the Universe. It allows theories, such as about wormholes and white holes, to be created and expanded upon.

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In the next blog, we will be going more in depth about space-time by discussing the concepts of blackholes, whiteholes, and wormholes. In the meantime, comment down below what you found most interesting! Make sure to subscribe to our blog and follow us on Instagram to receive updates on new posts! Thank you and keep looking up!

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Bibliography

"Space-Time.” Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/science/space-

time.

Mann, Adam. “What Is Space-Time?” LiveScience, Purch, 20 May 2021, https://www.livescience.com/space-

time.html.

Introduction: Rubber Sheets, Bowling Ball, and BBS ... - JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42975461.