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Principle Of Covariance
In physics, the principle of covariance emphasizes the formulation of physical laws using only those physical quantities the measurements of which the observers in different frame of reference, frames of reference could unambiguously correlate. Mathematically, the physical quantities must transform ''covariantly'', that is, under a certain group representation, representation of the group (mathematics), group of coordinate transformations between admissible frames of reference of the physical theory.E. J. Post, ''Formal Structure of Electromagnetics: General Covariance and Electromagnetics'', Dover publications. This group is referred to as the covariance group. The principle of covariance does not require invariance of the physical laws under the group of admissible transformations, although in most cases the equations are actually invariant. However, in the theory of weak interactions, the equations are not invariant under reflections (but are, of course, still covariant). Covar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frame Of Reference
In physics and astronomy, a frame of reference (or reference frame) is an abstract coordinate system, whose origin (mathematics), origin, orientation (geometry), orientation, and scale (geometry), scale have been specified in physical space. It is based on a set of reference points, defined as point (geometry), geometric points whose position (geometry), position is identified both mathematically (with numerical coordinate values) and physically (signaled by conventional markers). An important special case is that of ''inertial reference frames'', a stationary or uniformly moving frame. For ''n'' dimensions, reference points are sufficient to fully define a reference frame. Using Cartesian coordinate system, rectangular Cartesian coordinates, a reference frame may be defined with a reference point at the origin and a reference point at one unit distance along each of the ''n'' coordinate Cartesian coordinate system, axes. In Theory of relativity, Einsteinian relativity, referen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poincaré Group
The Poincaré group, named after Henri Poincaré (1905), was first defined by Hermann Minkowski (1908) as the isometry group of Minkowski spacetime. It is a ten-dimensional non-abelian Lie group that is of importance as a model in our understanding of the most basic fundamentals of physics. Overview The Poincaré group consists of all coordinate transformations of Minkowski space that do not change the spacetime interval between events. For example, if everything were postponed by two hours, including the two events and the path you took to go from one to the other, then the time interval between the events recorded by a stopwatch that you carried with you would be the same. Or if everything were shifted five kilometres to the west, or turned 60 degrees to the right, you would also see no change in the interval. It turns out that the proper length of an object is also unaffected by such a shift. In total, there are ten degrees of freedom for such transformations. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scalar Field
In mathematics and physics, a scalar field is a function associating a single number to each point in a region of space – possibly physical space. The scalar may either be a pure mathematical number ( dimensionless) or a scalar physical quantity (with units). In a physical context, scalar fields are required to be independent of the choice of reference frame. That is, any two observers using the same units will agree on the value of the scalar field at the same absolute point in space (or spacetime) regardless of their respective points of origin. Examples used in physics include the temperature distribution throughout space, the pressure distribution in a fluid, and spin-zero quantum fields, such as the Higgs field. These fields are the subject of scalar field theory. Definition Mathematically, a scalar field on a region ''U'' is a real or complex-valued function or distribution on ''U''. The region ''U'' may be a set in some Euclidean space, Minkowski spac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Differentiable Function
In mathematics, a differentiable function of one real variable is a function whose derivative exists at each point in its domain. In other words, the graph of a differentiable function has a non- vertical tangent line at each interior point in its domain. A differentiable function is smooth (the function is locally well approximated as a linear function at each interior point) and does not contain any break, angle, or cusp. If is an interior point in the domain of a function , then is said to be ''differentiable at'' if the derivative f'(x_0) exists. In other words, the graph of has a non-vertical tangent line at the point . is said to be differentiable on if it is differentiable at every point of . is said to be ''continuously differentiable'' if its derivative is also a continuous function over the domain of the function f. Generally speaking, is said to be of class if its first k derivatives f^(x), f^(x), \ldots, f^(x) exist and are continuous over the domain of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invertible
In mathematics, the concept of an inverse element generalises the concepts of opposite () and reciprocal () of numbers. Given an operation denoted here , and an identity element denoted , if , one says that is a left inverse of , and that is a right inverse of . (An identity element is an element such that and for all and for which the left-hand sides are defined.) When the operation is associative, if an element has both a left inverse and a right inverse, then these two inverses are equal and unique; they are called the ''inverse element'' or simply the ''inverse''. Often an adjective is added for specifying the operation, such as in additive inverse, multiplicative inverse, and functional inverse. In this case (associative operation), an invertible element is an element that has an inverse. In a ring, an ''invertible element'', also called a unit, is an element that is invertible under multiplication (this is not ambiguous, as every element is invertible under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reference Frame
In physics and astronomy, a frame of reference (or reference frame) is an abstract coordinate system, whose origin, orientation, and scale have been specified in physical space. It is based on a set of reference points, defined as geometric points whose position is identified both mathematically (with numerical coordinate values) and physically (signaled by conventional markers). An important special case is that of '' inertial reference frames'', a stationary or uniformly moving frame. For ''n'' dimensions, reference points are sufficient to fully define a reference frame. Using rectangular Cartesian coordinates, a reference frame may be defined with a reference point at the origin and a reference point at one unit distance along each of the ''n'' coordinate axes. In Einsteinian relativity, reference frames are used to specify the relationship between a moving observer and the phenomenon under observation. In this context, the term often becomes observational frame of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Relativity
General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General theory of relativity, relativity generalizes special relativity and refines Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time in physics, time, or four-dimensional spacetime. In particular, the ''curvature of spacetime'' is directly related to the energy and momentum of whatever is present, including matter and radiation. The relation is specified by the Einstein field equations, a system of second-order partial differential equations. Newton's law of universal gravitation, which describes gravity in classical mechanics, can be seen as a prediction of general relativity for the almost flat spacetime geometry around stationary mass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electromagnetic Tensor
In electromagnetism, the electromagnetic tensor or electromagnetic field tensor (sometimes called the field strength tensor, Faraday tensor or Maxwell bivector) is a mathematical object that describes the electromagnetic field in spacetime. The field tensor was developed by Arnold Sommerfeld after the four-dimensional tensor formulation of special relativity was introduced by Hermann Minkowski. The tensor allows related physical laws to be written concisely, and allows for the quantization of the electromagnetic field by the Lagrangian formulation described below. Definition The electromagnetic tensor, conventionally labelled ''F'', is defined as the exterior derivative of the electromagnetic four-potential, ''A'', a differential 1-form: :F \ \stackrel\ \mathrmA. Therefore, ''F'' is a differential 2-form— an antisymmetric rank-2 tensor field—on Minkowski space. In component form, :F_ = \partial_\mu A_\nu - \partial_\nu A_\mu. where \partial is the four-gradient and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4-velocity
In physics, in particular in special relativity and general relativity, a four-velocity is a four-vector in four-dimensional spacetimeTechnically, the four-vector should be thought of as residing in the tangent space of a point in spacetime, spacetime itself being modeled as a smooth manifold. This distinction is significant in general relativity. that represents the relativistic counterpart of velocity, which is a three-dimensional vector in space. Physical events correspond to mathematical points in time and space, the set of all of them together forming a mathematical model of physical four-dimensional spacetime. The history of an object traces a curve in spacetime, called its world line. If the object has mass, so that its speed is necessarily less than the speed of light, the world line may be parametrized by the proper time of the object. The four-velocity is the rate of change of four-position with respect to the proper time along the curve. The velocity, in contrast, is the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invariant Interval
In physics, spacetime, also called the space-time continuum, is a mathematical model that fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum. Spacetime diagrams are useful in visualizing and understanding relativistic effects, such as how different observers perceive ''where'' and ''when'' events occur. Until the turn of the 20th century, the assumption had been that the three-dimensional geometry of the universe (its description in terms of locations, shapes, distances, and directions) was distinct from time (the measurement of when events occur within the universe). However, space and time took on new meanings with the Lorentz transformation and special theory of relativity. In 1908, Hermann Minkowski presented a geometric interpretation of special relativity that fused time and the three spatial dimensions into a single four-dimensional continuum now known as Minkowski space. This interpretation proved vital to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorentz Force
In electromagnetism, the Lorentz force is the force exerted on a charged particle by electric and magnetic fields. It determines how charged particles move in electromagnetic environments and underlies many physical phenomena, from the operation of electric motors and particle accelerators to the behavior of plasmas. The Lorentz force has two components. The electric force acts in the direction of the electric field for positive charges and opposite to it for negative charges, tending to accelerate the particle in a straight line. The magnetic force is perpendicular to both the particle's velocity and the magnetic field, and it causes the particle to move along a curved trajectory, often circular or helical in form, depending on the directions of the fields. Variations on the force law describe the magnetic force on a current-carrying wire (sometimes called Laplace force), and the electromotive force in a wire loop moving through a magnetic field, as described by Faraday's la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bispinor
In physics, and specifically in quantum field theory, a bispinor is a mathematical construction that is used to describe some of the fundamental particles of nature, including quarks and electrons. It is a specific embodiment of a spinor, specifically constructed so that it is consistent with the requirements of special relativity. Bispinors transform in a certain "spinorial" fashion under the action of the Lorentz group, which describes the symmetries of Minkowski spacetime. They occur in the relativistic spin- wave function solutions to the Dirac equation. Bispinors are so called because they are constructed out of two simpler component spinors, the Weyl spinors. Each of the two component spinors transform differently under the two distinct complex-conjugate spin-1/2 representations of the Lorentz group. This pairing is of fundamental importance, as it allows the represented particle to have a mass, carry a charge, and represent the flow of charge as a current, and perhaps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
