Absolute space
The absolute space is that of Isaac Newton postulated concept of a physical space that is both independent of the observer as physical well of the contained objects and processes taking place within it. Newton also postulates an absolute time with analogous properties . Together, both concepts in Albert Einstein's theory of relativity are replaced by a dynamic spacetime in which space and time depend both on the observer and on the distribution and movement of the matter it contains .
Absolute space and absolute time form the basis of Newton's classical mechanics, which he founded, and consequently also that of classical physics . Accordingly, all absolute movements take place relative to absolute space. Newton also states that the processes in a system of bodies take place in the same way if the whole system with all bodies moves in a straight line, be it uniformly or accelerated. With this he expresses the Galileo invariance of the laws of classical mechanics, which makes it impossible to determine a constant speed relative to absolute space with a mechanical experiment . The relativity principle , on which the theory of relativity is based, expresses that this cannot be determined by any experiment.
In one experiment , the shape of the water surface in a rotating bucket is examined. If you stop the movement of the bucket, the shape of the water surface is retained. The movement of water in relation to absolute space is thus made detectable. The Foucault pendulum is also an example of proof of rotation independent of external objects. In the rotating reference system of the earth, on the other hand, the movement of the pedal is attributed to the Coriolis force . Foucault showed that the earth itself rotates and not the starry sky around the earth. According to Ernst Mach, on the other hand, these inertial forces cannot prove the absolute rotation either, but only that a relative rotation takes place in relation to the fixed stars or other large masses far away. Einstein called the requirement to adapt the laws of mechanics to this condition as Mach's principle . It is partly fulfilled in the general theory of relativity .
literature
- Markus Fierz : About the origin and meaning of Isaac Newton's teaching on absolute space. In: Gesnerus . Vol. 11 (1954), pp. 62-120.
- Julian B. Barbour: Absolute or Relative Motion? Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1989, ISBN 0-521-32467-X .
- Ernst Mach: The development of mechanics . 4th edition. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1901, p. 242 ff .
Individual evidence
- ^ Isaac Newton, Principia, editor Florian Cajori, University of California Press 1934, p. 10
- ↑ Brian Greene : The stuff the cosmos is made of: space, time and the nature of reality . Siedler, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-88680-738-X .