The space-time structure is a conceptual model that combines the three dimensions of space and the four dimensions of time.According to the best current physics theory, space-time explains the anomalous relativistic effect of moving closer. Speed of light Similar to the movement of giant objects in the universe.
Who discovered space-time?
Famous physicist Albert Einstein He helped develop the idea of space-time as part of his theory of relativity. Prior to his pioneering work, scientists had two separate theories to explain physical phenomena: Isaac Newton The laws of physics explained the movement of giant objects, and James Clerk Maxwell’s electromagnetic model explained the nature of light. According to NASA..
Relation: Newton’s Law of Motion
However, experiments conducted at the end of the 19th century suggested that something special had happened. light.. As a result of the measurement, it was found that the light always moves at the same speed no matter what. And in 1898, French physicist and mathematician Henri Poincaré speculated that the speed of light could be the limit of excellence. Around the same time, other researchers were investigating the possibility that the size and mass of an object would change with velocity.
Einstein put together all these ideas in 1905 Special relativity, This assumed that the speed of light was constant. For this to be true, space and time had to be combined into a single framework that colluded to keep the speed of light the same for all observers.
People using ultra-fast rockets measure slower travel times and shorter object lengths compared to people moving at much slower speeds. That’s because space and time are relative they depend on the speed of the observer. But the speed of light is more basic than either.
The conclusion that space-time is a single cloth was not reached by Einstein himself. The idea came from the German mathematician Hermann Minkowski. Said at the 1908 Colloquium“The future space itself, and the time itself, is destined to disappear into mere shadows, and only one kind of union of the two will maintain an independent reality.”
The space-time he described is still known as the Minkowski space-time and serves as the background for both the theory of relativity and quantum field theory.According to astrophysicist and science writer, the latter describes the dynamics of elementary particles as a field. Ethan Siegel..
How space-time works
When people talk about space and time today, they often describe it as a sheet of rubber. This also comes from Einstein. General theory of relativity Of that power gravity It was due to the curve of the space-time structure.
Giant object like Earth, Sun or you distorts and bends space and time. These curves limit the way everything in the universe travels, as the object must follow a path along this distorted curvature. Gravity motion is actually motion along the twist and rotation of space-time.
NASA’s mission called Gravity Probe B (GP-B) I measured the shape In 2011, we analyzed the spatiotemporal vortices around the Earth and found that they were in close agreement with Einstein’s predictions.
Relation: Space-time ripples can reveal the shape of a wormhole
However, many of these remain difficult for most people to wrap their heads. Space-time can be said to resemble a rubber sheet, but the analogy eventually collapses. The rubber sheet is two-dimensional, and space-time is four-dimensional. The sheet represents not only the distortion of space but also the distortion of time. The complex equations used to explain all of this are awkward even for physicists.
“Einstein made a beautiful machine, but he didn’t leave us the exact user manual,” he wrote. Astrophysicist Paul Satter For Space.com, a sister site of Live Science. “The general theory of relativity is so complex that when someone finds a solution to an equation, they get a solution named after them and become semi-legendary in their own right.”
The easiest way to understand the structure of space-time is to imagine a curved sheet of rubber that dictates how everything in the universe works. However, the analogy is not completely accurate, as space-time has four dimensions, while rubber sheets have only two dimensions. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
What scientists don’t know yet
Despite its complexity Theory of relativity It will continue to be the best way to explain the physical phenomena we know.Still, scientists know that the model is incomplete because the theory of relativity is not yet in perfect harmony. Quantum mechanics, This describes the properties of subatomic particles very accurately, but does not incorporate gravity.
Quantum mechanics is based on the fact that the small bits that make up the universe are discrete, or quantized. Therefore, the photons that make up light are like small chunks of light that come into separate packets.
Some theorists speculate that space-time itself is probably included in these. Quantized chunksHelps bridge the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Researchers at the European Space Agency have proposed the GrailQuest mission for quantum exploration in space and time. It flies around our planet, Gamma rays A burst that may reveal the close nature of space-time.
Such missions will not start for at least a decade and a half, but if they do, they can help solve some of the biggest mysteries remaining in physics.
Additional resources
This article was updated on May 20, 2021 by Kimberly Hickok, Live Science’s reference editor.
The space-time structure is a conceptual model that combines the three dimensions of space and the four dimensions of time.According to the best current physics theory, space-time explains the anomalo
