相关论文: Minkowski space-time: a glorious non-entity

The peculiarities of rotating frames of reference played an important role in the genesis of general relativity. Considering them, Einstein became convinced that coordinates have a different status in the general theory of relativity than…

As quotient spaces, Minkowski and de Sitter are fundamental spacetimes in the sense that they are known "a priori", independently of Einstein equation. They represent different non-gravitational backgrounds for the construction of physical…

I examine the debate between substantivalists and relationalists about the ontological character of spacetime and conclude it is not well posed. I argue that the so-called Hole Argument does not bear on the debate, because it provides no…

We present an elementary system of axioms for the geometry of Minkowski spacetime. It strikes a balance between a simple and streamlined set of axioms and the attempt to give a direct formalization in first-order logic of the standard…

We argue that the construction of spacetime is personal, specific to each observer, and requires combining aspects of both discovery and creation. What is usually referred to as the block universe then emerges by noting that part of the…

Many different mathematical languages have been invented to describe the ideas of Einstein's special relativity. One of the most powerful languages is the Minkowski space-time algebra of D. Hestenes. We discuss the ideas of special…

We study in this paper different topos-theoretical approaches to the problem of construction of General Theory of Relativity. In general case the resulting space-time theory will be non-classical, different from that of the usual Einstein…

It is rarely emphasized in modern physics textbooks that our definitions of space and time have to reflect their complete interdependence. Our intuitive methods of always picturing one-dimensional space as a sum of unit-length rods and of…

We recount the successful long career of classical physics, from Newton to Einstein, which was based on the philosophy of scientific realism. Special emphasis is given to the changing status and number of ontological entitities and…

Einstein's contribution to relativity is reviewed. It is pointed out that Weyl gave first unified theory of gravitation and electromagnetism and it was different than the five dimensional theory of Kaluza. Einstein began his work on…

A century ago, Einstein formulated his elegant and elaborate theory of General Relativity, which has so far withstood a multitude of empirical tests with remarkable success. Notwithstanding the triumphs of Einstein's theory, the tenacious…

Einstein claimed that the fundamental dynamical insight of special relativity was the equivalence of mass and energy. I disagree. Not only are mass and energy not equivalent (whatever exactly that means) but talk of such equivalence…

A generalised equivalence principle is put forward according to which space-time symmetries and internal quantum symmetries are indistinguishable before symmetry breaking. Based on this principle, a higher-dimensional extension of Minkowski…

Einstein's theory of general relativity models the physical universe using spacetimes which satisfy Einstein's gravitational field equations. To date, Einstein's theory has been enormously successful in modeling observed gravitational…

With the theory of special relativity, time has been linked with space into a four-dimensional space-time from which a basic question must be asked: can space be really transformed into time and vice-versa? The response is affirmative if…

Since antiquity, from Euclid of Alexandria to Galileo Galilei to Immanuel Kant to Hermann Minkowksi to Albert Einstein, the question of the nature of space and time has occupied scientists and philosophers. In the four-dimensional…

Even though the concepts of time and space are basic concepts of physics, they have not been vouchsafed a constructive definition. As to space, this is no wonder because a correct notion of space cannot be formed in the frame of the…

Starting from Bunge's (1977) scientific ontology, we expose a materialistic relational theory of space-time, that carries out the program initiated by Leibniz, and provides a protophysical basis consistent with any rigorous formulation of…

Physics was in crisis at the beginning of the twentieth century because the newborn Maxwell's electromagnetism defied mechanistic preconceptions. Albert Einstein understood that the solution to the crisis required an audacious reworking of…

In this essay, dedicated to the one hundredth anniversary of Hermann Minkowski's talk "Space and Time", I argue that physicists should face the issue of the reality of spacetime and worldtubes of physical objects for two reasons. First,…