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A fuller explanation of the concept of coordinate time arises from its relations with proper time and with clock synchronization. Synchronization, along with the related concept of simultaneity, has to receive careful definition in the framework of general relativity theory, because many of the assumptions inherent in classical mechanics and classical accounts of space and time had to be removed.
A coordinate system in mathematics is a facet of geometry or of algebra, [9] [10] in particular, a property of manifolds (for example, in physics, configuration spaces or phase spaces). [ 11 ] [ 12 ] The coordinates of a point r in an n -dimensional space are simply an ordered set of n numbers: [ 13 ] [ 14 ]
The first crucial concept is coordinate independence: The laws of physics cannot depend on what coordinate system one uses. This is a major extension of the principle of relativity from the version used in special relativity, which states that the laws of physics must be the same for every observer moving in non-accelerated (inertial) reference ...
Time is a scalar which is the same in all space E 3 and is denoted as t. The ordered set { t} is called a time axis. Motion (also path or trajectory) is a function r : Δ → R 3 that maps a point in the interval Δ from the time axis to a position (radius vector) in R 3.
Covariant vectors, on the other hand, have units of one-over-distance (as in a gradient) and transform in the same way as the coordinate system. For example, in changing from meters to millimeters, the coordinate units become smaller and the number measuring a gradient will also become smaller: 1 Kelvin per m becomes 0.001 Kelvin per mm.
Assume that the first observer uses coordinates labeled t, x, y, and z, while the second observer uses coordinates labeled t′, x′, y′, and z′. Now suppose that the first observer sees the second observer moving in the x-direction at a velocity v. And suppose that the observers' coordinate axes are parallel and that they have the same ...
The rationale for choosing a manifold as the fundamental mathematical structure is to reflect desirable physical properties. For example, in the theory of manifolds, each point is contained in a (by no means unique) coordinate chart, and this chart can be thought of as representing the 'local spacetime' around the observer (represented by the ...
For example, Plücker coordinates are used to determine the position of a line in space. [11] When there is a need, the type of figure being described is used to distinguish the type of coordinate system, for example the term line coordinates is used for any coordinate system that specifies the position of a line.