spacetime

See also: space-time

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From space +‎ time, as a calque of German Raumzeit, introduced in this sense by Hermann Minkowski. First appears in print c. 1893 in the Philosophical Review.

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈspeɪsˌtaɪm/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

spacetime (countable and uncountable, plural spacetimes)

  1. (uncountable, physics) The four-dimensional continuum of the three spatial dimensions plus time.
    An event is a point in spacetime, specified by the coordinates x, y, z, and t.
  2. (physics) An n-dimensional continuum consisting of dimensions of both space and time. Normally spacetime is considered as having 4 dimensions (x, y, z, t), but higher-dimensional spacetimes are often encountered in theoretical physics, e.g. the 5-dimensional spacetime of Kaluza-Klein theory or the 11 dimensions of spacetime in M-theory.
    a Minkowski spacetime
    a 5-dimensional spacetime
  3. (relativity) A specific region of the universe with mathematically different properties than the surrounding spacetime. Synonymous with "metric" within the context of general relativity.
    a Schwarzschild spacetime
    a Reissner-Nordström spacetime

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