Physics: Measuring time in meters in Minkowski spacetime

As counterintuitive as it might sound, it will become extremely convenient to use the same units for space and time. Happily, we can do that just by multiplying the time axis by c, the speed of light. Here's how.

Physics

Learn about the basic principles that govern the physical world around us. Solid understanding of algebra and a basic understanding of trigonometry necessary.

Minkowski spacetime

In a Newtonian world we assume that the passage of time or lengths in space are absolute--that regardless of one's inertial frame of reference, everyone would agree that the same time passed in every frame of reference and that something of a certain length in one frame would be the same length in other frames. This leads to the speed of light needing to be relative depending on the frame of reference which contradicts observation. We reconcile observations by loosening our assumptions about absolute space and time. We explore this through Minkowski spacetime diagrams.

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