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Minkowski spacetime
Sign in to saveAlso known as Minkowski space, Minkowski geometry
mathematical space setting which eases explanation of special relativity
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Hermann Minkowski (1864–1909) found that the theory of special relativity could be best understood as a four-dimensional space, since known as the Minkowski spacetime. In physics, Minkowski spacetime (or Minkowski space; /mɪŋˈkɔːfski, -ˈkɒf-/) is the main mathematical description of spacetime in the absence of gravitation. It combines inertial space and time manifolds into a four-dimensional model.
The model helps show how a spacetime interval between any two events is independent of the inertial frame of reference in which they are recorded. Mathematician Hermann Minkowski developed it from the work of Hendrik Lorentz, Henri Poincaré, and others, and said it "was grown on experimental physical grounds".
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Minkowski spacetime” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.