The 4D Spacetime

Abstract

Physics theories are made by building mathematical models that correspond to physical systems. General relativity, the physical theory of gravitation, models spacetime in a geometrical way: as a 4D manifold. The concept of manifold is just a generalization to the multidimensional case of the usual concept of a 2D surface. This will allow us to apply the well-known tools of differential geometry, the branch of mathematics which describes surfaces, to the study of spacetime geometry. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.