March 8, 2009
Posted by mike
spacetime continuum?
Today was the official ending of Daylight Saving Time. We finally get that extra hour of daylight back! I’ve always wondered how “the man” is able to take that hour from us. It just doesn’t make sense. Then, I talked to a guy this morning who lives in Raleigh, and never sets his clock back or forward. Talk about not conforming to the system.
To celebrate getting an extra hour of sunlight, I went for a run at the over-crowded lake and have been watching the “Back to the Future” trilogy. Let me just say, these are amazing movies! I’m well into the third movie and I still have no idea what the “spacetime continuum” is…except I know that seeing a future version of yourself could seriously alter it, causing the universe to implode. or explode.
I consulted wiki for a better definition. I offer it to you so that you can take the appropriate measures to not mess up the universe.
In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Spacetime is usually interpreted with space being three-dimensional and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort than the spatial dimensions. According to certain Euclidean space perceptions, the universe has three dimensions of space and one dimension of time. By combining space and time into a single manifold, physicists have significantly simplified a large number of physical theories, as well as described in a more uniform way the workings of the universe at both the supergalactic and subatomic levels.
In classical mechanics, the use of Euclidean space instead of spacetime is appropriate, as time is treated as universal and constant, being independent of the state of motion of an observer. In relativistic contexts, however, time cannot be separated from the three dimensions of space, because the rate at which time passes depends on an object’s velocity relative to the speed of light and also on the strength of intense gravitational fields which can slow the passage of time.
Be careful out there.
1 Comments
March 10, 2009
I don’t know a lot about that space-time continuum, Mr. Hooper. I think it has something to do with matter and energy being interchangeable, and the closer you approach the speed of light, time slows way down. This has been proven, I believe.
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