To describe phenomena on the scale of atoms, we use the second great theory: quantum mechanics, which differs from general relativity in basically everything. It uses flat space-time and a completely different mathematical apparatus
It's weird to me, that the common method of attempting to describe a four dimensional thing is to immediately reduce the three dimensional thing to two dimensions...
The word "curved" is problematic for the concept of space-time because it invokes one or two dimensional thought. Space-time is a four dimensional model.
The best description of the effect of gravity on space-time on my opinion is actually a joke... Gravity sucks :)
The definition of a right angle depends on the number of dimensions. Perpendicularity and parallelism are different in higher dimensions. Space is hard.
5 Comments
aelwero@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 2y
It's weird to me, that the common method of attempting to describe a four dimensional thing is to immediately reduce the three dimensional thing to two dimensions...
The word "curved" is problematic for the concept of space-time because it invokes one or two dimensional thought. Space-time is a four dimensional model.
The best description of the effect of gravity on space-time on my opinion is actually a joke... Gravity sucks :)
John_Hasler@lemmy.one · 8 pts · 2y
Curvature is well defined for manifolds with any number of dimensions. "Flat" in this context means "zero curvature", not "two dimensional".
CM400@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2y
Can I get an ELI5, please? I understand all of those words, but not the concepts behind them in this context…
acockworkorange@mander.xyz · 2 pts · 2y
The definition of a right angle depends on the number of dimensions. Perpendicularity and parallelism are different in higher dimensions. Space is hard.
John_Hasler@lemmy.one · 1 pts · 2y
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curvature#Space
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifold
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimension
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curvature#Flat_space
anthonystern@mander.xyz · -1 pts · 2y