1 Space, time, and spacetime

The geometry of spacetime by James J. Callahan. [GST]

Cartesian spacetime is represented by a set of Cartesian coordinate axes such as
(t, x, y, z) where t is the time coordinate and (x, y, z) are spatial coordinates. For
theoretical purposes, it is often sufficient to take one or two of the spatial coordinates
as being fixed. Indeed, 4D hyperspace can only be imagined by such artifices as the
successive configurations or positions in time of a 3D object. By an appropriate
choice of origin, we can then take x = 0 or x = y = 0. This gives us the plane (t, z)
and 3D space (t, y, z) as representations of spacetime.
A physical occurrence such as the idealized flash of a light bulb which happens at a
particular time and place is marked by a time coordinate and one, two or three spatial
coordinates depending on the representation of spacetime we are using. Accordingly,
an ordered set of spacetime coordinates like (t, y, z) is referred to as an event. A
curve in spacetime representing a particle is called the history or worldline of the
particle.
Example 1.1. The journeys back and forth of a bus along a linear route can rep-
resented as a 2D spacetime diagram by taking x as the distance travelled at time
t.
x

E2 E3
x1
v1 v2
E1 E6
t
t1 t2 t3 t4 t5 t6
v3
x2
E4 E5

This example comprises a series of events E1 to E6 as follows:

E1 started from depot at time t1
travelled with average speed v1
E2 arrived at x1 at time t2
E3 set off for x2 at time t3
travelled with average speed v2
E4 arrived at x2 at time t4
E5 set off for depot at time t5
travelled with average speed v3
E6 arrived at depot at time t6

1
The worldline in the foregoing example consisted of straight line segments because
the bus was either stationary or its motion was represented in terms of its average
speed. In general, an accelerating object, such as a freely falling body, has a curved
worldline.
Example 1.2. Consider two balls launched from a height z = z0 . One ball A is
dropped with zero initial velocity at time t = 0 and reaches the ground z = 0 at
time t = tA . The second ball is launched with an initial velocity v0 at time t = 0
and reaches the ground at time t = tB . This scenario is depicted in the spacetime
diagram below. Each worldline continues as a horizontal line after impact because
the ball is motionless thereafter. We point out that these motions form parabolic
arcs in spacetime (t, z) while their paths in space are one-dimensional. They travel
along the vertical z-axis.

slope = v0

z0
B

t
tA tB

A surface in spacetime representing the motion of a 1D object such as a wire is called

a worldsheet or world tube.

Example 1.3. Consider a stationary segment of bent wire in the xy-plane. Let a
bead move along this wire at constant speed. The wire will form a sheet in 3D
spacetime and the bead will trace out a worldline. If the bead remained stationary,
its worldline would be parallel to the t-axis. At a certain speed v1 relative to the
wire, it traces out worldline 1 and at a higher speed v2 , it traces out worldline 2.

2
 y

x
2
ldline
wor

worldline 1

wor
ldsh
ee t t

Light signals

For spacetime diagrams depicting the motion of light, it is sometimes convenient to

work with geometric units. This means we measure time in seconds and distance in
light seconds, i.e. the distance travelled by light through a vacuum in one second,
equal to c ≈ 3 × 108 meters.
Example 1.4. Consider a flash of light at the origin of 2D spacetime. This event
produces a light signal (photons) which travel away from z = 0 in both directions
along the z-axis. The signals travelling in the positive and negative z-directions have
gradients of +1 and −1 respectively in geometric units.

z/light sec

slope = +1

t/sec

slope = −1

Massive bodies travel with velocities below the speed of light, typically v  c, and
have correspondingly small gradients in geometric units.

3
 z

c
=
lv
na
ig

1 c
s

= 2
ht

v1
lig

v2  c
t

Example 1.5. A flash of light at the origin of 4D spacetime gives the hypersurface
x2 + y 2 + z 2 = c2 t2 . This cannot be represented on paper as a single graphic but
the section obtained by taking x = 0 is a conical surface in 3D spacetime called a
light cone. It is generated by the worldlines of all photons moving in the yz-plane.