Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?

Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?
Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?

Ask Ethan: Is Spacetime Really A Fabric?

“I’d like somebody to finally acknowledge and admit that showing balls on a bed sheet doesn’t cut it as a picture of reality.”

Okay, I admit it: visualizing General Relativity as balls on a bedsheet doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. For one, if this is what gravity is supposed to be, what pulls the balls “down” onto the bedsheet? For another, if space is three dimensional, why are we talking about a 2D “fabric” of space? And for another, why do these lines curve away from the mass, rather than towards it?

It’s true: this visualization of General Relativity is highly flawed. But, believe it or not, all visualizations of General Relativity inherently have similar flaws. The reason is that space itself is not an observable thing! In Einstein’s theory, General Relativity provides the link between the matter and energy in the Universe, which determines the geometric curvature of spacetime, and how the rest of the matter and energy in the Universe moves in response to that. In this Universe, we can only measure matter and energy, not space itself. We can visualize it how we like, but all visualizations are inherently flawed.

Come get the story of how to make as much sense as possible out of the Universe we actually have.

More Posts from Luhuhul and Others

6 years ago
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
4 years ago
Sometimes… There’s More Than Meets The Eye. 👀 You’re Looking At Two Very Different Takes On
Sometimes… There’s More Than Meets The Eye. 👀 You’re Looking At Two Very Different Takes On

Sometimes… there’s more than meets the eye. 👀 You’re looking at two very different takes on an iconic image. ⁣

Human eyes can see only a small portion of the range of radiation given off by the objects around us. We call this wide array of radiation the electromagnetic spectrum, and the part we can see visible light.

In the first image, researchers revisited one of Hubble Space Telescope’s most popular sights: the Eagle Nebula’s Pillars of Creation. Here, the pillars are seen in infrared light, which pierces through obscuring dust and gas and unveil a more unfamiliar — but just as amazing — view of the pillars. ⁣ ⁣ The entire frame is peppered with bright stars and baby stars are revealed being formed within the pillars themselves. The image on the bottom is the pillars in visible light.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble and the Hubble Heritage Team⁣

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

1 year ago
I Think It's Nice That We Share The Same Sky ✰ aftersun (2022) Dir. By Charlotte Wells
I Think It's Nice That We Share The Same Sky ✰ aftersun (2022) Dir. By Charlotte Wells
I Think It's Nice That We Share The Same Sky ✰ aftersun (2022) Dir. By Charlotte Wells
I Think It's Nice That We Share The Same Sky ✰ aftersun (2022) Dir. By Charlotte Wells
I Think It's Nice That We Share The Same Sky ✰ aftersun (2022) Dir. By Charlotte Wells
I Think It's Nice That We Share The Same Sky ✰ aftersun (2022) Dir. By Charlotte Wells

i think it's nice that we share the same sky ✰ aftersun (2022) dir. by charlotte wells

5 years ago
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Requiem For A Dream (2000)
Requiem For A Dream (2000)

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

6 years ago

I just arrived home from seeing Declan McKenna!! 🇲🇽👍🏼 this kid is amazing, so much better than i thought!! And i had the opportunity to see him so close!!! 😍😍👏🏼👏🏼

6 years ago

Humanity did not prove that the sun is, in fact, a star until 1838.

6 years ago

Rwwwr

Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens

Christiaan Huygens

Christiaan Huygens (14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch physicist, mathematician, astronomer and inventor, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and a major figure in the scientific revolution. In physics, Huygens made groundbreaking contributions in optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he is chiefly known for his studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon Titan. As an inventor, he improved the design of the telescope with the invention of the Huygenian eyepiece. His most famous invention, however, was the invention of the pendulum clock in 1656, which was a breakthrough in timekeeping and became the most accurate timekeeper for almost 300 years. Because he was the first to use mathematical formulae to describe the laws of physics, Huygens has been called the first theoretical physicist and the founder of mathematical physics.

In 1659, Huygens was the first to derive the now standard formula for the centripetal force in his work De vi centrifuga. The formula played a central role in classical mechanics and became known as the second of Newton’s laws of motion. Huygens was also the first to formulate the correct laws of elastic collision in his work De motu corporum ex percussione, but his findings were not published until after his death in 1703. In the field of optics, he is best known for his wave theory of light, which he proposed in 1678 and described in 1690 in his Treatise on Light, which is regarded as the first mathematical theory of light. His theory was initially rejected in favor of Isaac Newton’s corpuscular theory of light, until Augustin-Jean Fresnel adopted Huygens’ principle in 1818 and showed that it could explain the rectilinear propagation and diffraction effects of light. Today this principle is known as the Huygens–Fresnel principle. read more

Image credit: NASA/JPL, Commons.wikimedia

1 year ago
*ೃ༄ True, But I Saw Her Hair Like The Branch Of A Tree

*ೃ༄ true, but I saw her hair like the branch of a tree

⋆·˚ ༘ * willow dancin’ on air before covering me

2 years ago
luhuhul - Everlasting
3 years ago
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
luhuhul - Everlasting
  • drk32
    drk32 liked this · 2 years ago
  • day-knight
    day-knight liked this · 3 years ago
  • sunnycosmology
    sunnycosmology liked this · 3 years ago
luhuhul - Everlasting
Everlasting

161 posts

Explore Tumblr Blog
Search Through Tumblr Tags