Wiktionary

spacetime

See also: space-time

English edit

 
the 'fabric' of spacetime

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

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 edit

spacetime (countable and uncountable, plural spacetimes)

  1. (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.
  2. (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 Minkowski spacetime
    a 5-dimensional spacetime
  3. (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

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