space-time
orspace-time continuum
n
(General Physics) physics the four-dimensional continuum having three spatial coordinates and one time coordinate that together completely specify the location of a particle or an event
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
space′-time′
n.
1. Also called space′-time′ contin`uum. the four-dimensional continuum, having three coordinates of space and one coordinate of time, in which all physical quantities may be located.
2. the physical reality within this four-dimensional continuum.
[1910–15]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
space-time
The four dimensions in which all objects are located and all events occur, viewed as a single and continuous framework for existence. Space-time consists of length, width, and depth, plus the dimension of time. See more at relativity.
Did You Know? Before Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, people thought they lived in a three-dimensional world. Time was considered to be a completely separate entity. But Einstein realized that a more correct view put time and the three space dimensions on equal footing. Physicists call the four-dimensional construct within which they interpret nature space-time. In space-time two events that appear to happen at the exact same time to one person in one place can appear to happen at different times to someone else in a different place. In other words, whether or not the events occur at the same time depends on the position and movement of the observers. How is this possible? Think of thunder and lightning. Lightning reaches the eye at the speed of light, while thunder reaches the ear at the much slower speed of sound. To an observer right where lightning hits, the thunder seems to come at the same moment. Several miles away, however, the lightning appears well before the thunder is heard. Similarly, if one observer were moving faster than the other toward or away from the lightning strike, each observer would experience the events at different time intervals. As Einstein figured it, everything in space-time is relative.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  space-time - the four-dimensional coordinate system (3 dimensions of space and 1 of time) in which physical events are locatedcoordinate system, frame of reference, reference frame, reference system - a system that uses coordinates to establish position |
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