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Four-dimensional space (4D) is the mathematical extension of the concept of three-dimensional space (3D). Three-dimensional space is the simplest possible abstraction of the observation that one needs only three numbers, called dimensions , to describe the sizes or locations of objects in the everyday world.
The spacetime underlying Albert Einstein's field equations, which mathematically describe gravitation, is a real 4 dimensional pseudo-Riemannian manifold. In quantum mechanics, wave functions describing particles are complex-valued functions of real space and time variables.
If it is restricted between the hyperplanes w = 0 and w = r for some nonzero r, then it may be closed by a 3-ball of radius r, centered at (0,0,0,r), so that it bounds a finite 4-dimensional volume. This volume is given by the formula 1 / 3 π r 4, and is the 4-dimensional equivalent of the solid cone. The ball may be thought of as the ...
In mathematics, the group of rotations about a fixed point in four-dimensional Euclidean space is denoted SO(4). The name comes from the fact that it is the special orthogonal group of order 4. In this article rotation means rotational displacement .
Minkowski space is named for the German mathematician Hermann Minkowski, who around 1907 realized that the theory of special relativity (previously developed by Poincaré and Einstein) could be elegantly described using a four-dimensional spacetime, which combines the dimension of time with the three dimensions of space.
In mathematical physics, spacetime algebra (STA) is the application of Clifford algebra Cl 1,3 (R), or equivalently the geometric algebra G(M 4) to physics. Spacetime algebra provides a "unified, coordinate-free formulation for all of relativistic physics, including the Dirac equation, Maxwell equation and General Relativity" and "reduces the mathematical divide between classical, quantum and ...
Lovelock's theorem of general relativity says that from a local gravitational action which contains only second derivatives of the four-dimensional spacetime metric, then the only possible equations of motion are the Einstein field equations. [1] [2] [3] The theorem was described by British physicist David Lovelock in 1971.
In general relativity, four-dimensional vectors, or four-vectors, are required. These four dimensions are length, height, width and time. A "point" in this context would be an event, as it has both a location and a time. Similar to vectors, tensors in relativity require four dimensions. One example is the Riemann curvature tensor.