Of note is the fact that any event can eventually become a part of another being's past.įigure 2: Regions of the Minkowski Diagram Anything that happened before E and is not in the past light cone could not have affected E (because its future light cone does not encompass E). The past is the locus of events that contributed to E state. According to modern theory, this is impossible, for the speed of light is believed to be the greatest possible speed. The reason that E cannot affect anything outside of it's future light cone is because, in order to do so, it would have to send some sort of message to the desired location faster than the speed of light. The future is the locus of all events (that have not yet happened) that E can (and does) affect. If light cones are drawn in the positive and negative time directions from a certain event (E), spacetime is separated into three distinct regions: "future", "past", and "meta-present". Hence, a Flatland Minkowski Diagram is a 3-Space, with light cones as in the diagram below.Īn event (a particular place at a particular time) is represented by a point on the Minkowski Diagram. In a Flatland Minkowski Diagram, there are two axes for space (a plane), and one axis for time. Thus, a Lineland Minkowski Diagram is a plane, with light rays traveling at 45 and 135 degree angles to the space axis (these rays make up a two dimensional light cone). In a Lineland Minkowski Diagram, there is one axis for space (a line), and one axis for time. The two most common types of Minkowski Diagrams are "Lineland Minkowski Diagrams" and "Flatland Minkowski Diagrams". This means that if the time axis is measured in seconds, then the space axes are measured in light-seconds (the distance light can travel in one second). The defining feature of a Minkowski diagram is that light rays are drawn at a 45 degree angle to the line or plane respresenting space. Such diagrams are a subset of the general spacetime diagram. One frequently used method of visualizing spacetime is the Minkowski Diagram. Examination questions may use units in which c = 1.Spacetime diagrams can have t or ct on the vertical axis.Quantitative questions involving spacetime diagrams will be limited to constant velocity.Examination questions will refer to spacetime diagrams these are also known as Minkowski diagrams.Aim 4: spacetime diagrams allow one to analyse problems in relativity more reliably.Can paradoxes be solved by reason alone, or do they require the utilization of other ways of knowing?.Resolving of the twin paradox through spacetime diagrams.Representing time dilation and length contraction on spacetime diagrams.
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