Invariant interval: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m removing orphan template as not a valid orphan |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{merge|line element|discuss=Talk:invariant interval#Merger proposal|date=December 2010}} |
{{merge|line element|discuss=Talk:invariant interval#Merger proposal|date=December 2010}} |
||
In physics, the '''invariant interval''' is the measure of separation between two |
In physics, the '''invariant interval''' is the measure of separation between two arbitrarily close [[Event (relativity)|events]] in the [[spacetime]] of [[general relativity|general]] or [[special relativity|special]] theory of relativity. It is invariant under the coordinate transformations from the [[covariance group]] of the theory. That is, in special relativity it is invariant under [[Lorentz transformation]]s; in general relativity it is invariant under arbitrary invertible differentiable coordinate transformations. |
||
The invariant interval is usually denoted as <math>ds</math> and is given in terms of the [[metric tensor]] <math>g_{ab}</math> as |
The invariant interval is usually denoted as <math>ds</math> and is given in terms of the [[metric tensor]] <math>g_{ab}</math> as |
||
Revision as of 11:11, 6 October 2011
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with line element. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2010. |
In physics, the invariant interval is the measure of separation between two arbitrarily close events in the spacetime of general or special theory of relativity. It is invariant under the coordinate transformations from the covariance group of the theory. That is, in special relativity it is invariant under Lorentz transformations; in general relativity it is invariant under arbitrary invertible differentiable coordinate transformations.
The invariant interval is usually denoted as and is given in terms of the metric tensor as
where is the coordinate differential between the two events.
