| Revision as of 22:01, 3 December 2011 editChris Howard (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users5,868 edits ←Created page with 'In physics, a '''world tube''' is the path of an object occupies a nonzero region of space (nonzero volume) at every moment in time, as it travels through 4-...' | Revision as of 16:49, 2 January 2012 edit undoQetuth (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users29,594 editsm more specific stub typeNext edit → | ||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| {{ |
{{relativity-stub}} | ||
Revision as of 16:49, 2 January 2012
In physics, a world tube is the path of an object occupies a nonzero region of space (nonzero volume) at every moment in time, as it travels through 4-dimensional spacetime. That is, as it propagates in spacetime, a world tube traces out a three-dimensional volume for every moment in time. The world tube is analogous to the one-dimensional world line in that it describes the time evolution of an object in space, with the difference that a world line it represents the path of a point particle (of nonzero volume), whereas a world tube occupies finite space at all moments in time.
The concept of world tube is particularly relevant for special relativity, where a world tube is embedded in Minkowski space.
See also
References
- Malcolm Ludvigsen: General relativity: a geometric approach, Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-521-63019-3, p. 74
 | This relativity-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |