The Mystical formula and the mystery of Khronos
Jan, 2008Citations per year
Abstract: (arXiv)
In 1908, Minkowski put forward the idea that invariance under what we call today the Lorentz group, , would be more meaningful in a four-dimensional space-time continuum. This suggestion implies that space and time are intertwined entities so that, kinematic and dynamical quantities can be expressed as vectors, or more generally by tensors, in the four-dimensional space-time. Minkowski also showed how causality should be structured in the four-dimensional vector space. The mathematical formulation proposed by Minkowski made its generalization to curved spaces quite natural, leaving the doors to the General Theory of Relativity and many other developments ajar. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that this deceptively simple formulation eluded many space and time researchers, and goes against our every day experience and perception, according to which space and time are distinct entities. In this contribution, we discuss these contradictory views, analyze how they are seen in contemporary physics and comment on the challenges that space-time explorers face.Note:
- Contribution to the volume 'Minkowski Spacetime: A Hundred Years Later' to be published by Springer in the series 'Fundamental Theories of Physics' edited by V. Petkov •
- 27 pages. Contribution to the volume 'Minkowski Spacetime: A Hundred Years Later' to be published by Springer in the series 'Fundamental Theories of Physics', V. Petkov, Ed
- time: asymmetry
- group: Lorentz
- space-time
- general relativity
- time: cyclic
- causality
- quantum gravity
- membrane model
- philosophy
- time machine
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