Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation by Albert Einstein, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. The Four Dimensional Continuum

The Four Dimensional Continuum

Lengths and times therefore have not the absolute character formerly attributed to them. As they present themselves to us they are relations between the object and the observer which change as their motion relative to him changes. Time can no longer be regarded as something independent of position [174]and motion, and the question is what is the reality? The only possible answer is that objects must be regarded as existing in four dimensions, three of these being the ordinary ones of length, breadth and thickness, and the fourth, time. The term “space” is applicable only by analogy to such a region; it has been called a “continuum,” and the analogue of a point in ordinary three-dimensional space has been appropriately called an “event.” By “dimension” must be understood merely one of four independent quantities which locate an event in this continuum. In the nature of the case any clear mental picture of such a continuum is impossible; mankind does not possess the requisite faculties. In this respect the mathematician enjoys a great advantage. Not that he can picture the thing mentally any better than other people, but his symbols enable him to abstract the relevant properties from it and to express them in a form suitable for exact treatment without the necessity of picturing anything, or troubling whether or not the properties are those on which others rely for their conceptions.

About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books.

This book is part of the public domain. Albert Einstein (2020). Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022.

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org, located at https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/63372/pg63372-images.html

The Four Dimensional Continuum

About Author

Topics

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Minty

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps