Absolute space and time
Absolute space and time is a concept in physics and philosophy about the properties of the universe. In physics, absolute space and time may be a preferred frame.
Early concept[edit]
A version of the concept of absolute space (in the sense of a preferred frame) can be seen in Aristotelian physics.[1] Robert S. Westman writes that a "whiff" of absolute space can be observed in Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, where Copernicus uses the concept of an immobile sphere of stars.[2]
Special relativity[edit]
The concepts of space and time were separate in physical theory prior to the advent of special relativity theory, which connected the two and showed both to be dependent upon the reference frame's motion. In Einstein's theories, the ideas of absolute time and space were superseded by the notion of spacetime in special relativity, and curved spacetime in general relativity.
Absolute simultaneity refers to the concurrence of events in time at different locations in space in a manner agreed upon in all frames of reference. The theory of relativity does not have a concept of absolute time because there is a relativity of simultaneity. An event that is simultaneous with another event in one frame of reference may be in the past or future of that event in a different frame of reference,[6]: 59 which negates absolute simultaneity.
General relativity[edit]
Special relativity eliminates absolute time (although Gödel and others suspect absolute time may be valid for some forms of general relativity)[17] and general relativity further reduces the physical scope of absolute space and time through the concept of geodesics.[6]: 207–223 There appears to be absolute space in relation to the distant stars because the local geodesics eventually channel information from these stars, but it is not necessary to invoke absolute space with respect to any system's physics, as its local geodesics are sufficient to describe its spacetime.[18]
