Linked Questions
34 questions linked to/from Is spacetime discrete or continuous?
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Calculus shouldn't work for describing physics [duplicate]
I am not crazy. Hear me out.
I am not from a physics background but from maths. I have a really weird question in physics that is making me lose sleep. How can calculus describe physics? How is it ...
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Classical Mechanics: Continuous or Discrete universe? [duplicate]
The question of the "continuous" or "discrete" nature of the universe is the subject of diatribe among the greatest physicists in the world. I would like to discuss the same topic, but asking a ...
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741
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Planck length implies lattice structure of space? [duplicate]
There is known to be a lower limit on space, which can be derived from the Planck units. It can describe the minimum distance resolvable between two points; but what then would the structure of space ...
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Is the world we are living in discretized? [duplicate]
I do not know how to use professional words to ask my question, so I will try to use a layman language. Please bear with me for a moment.
A ROUGH GUESS
The world our eyes are seeing every moment is ...
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How reasonable is it to suppose that we are living in a cellular automaton? [duplicate]
Possibly in the search for a grand unified theory, it seems trendy at the moment for some writers and commentators to claim that space-time is grid-like and discrete rather than continuous.
I wonder ...
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Time it takes for a single unit of movement [duplicate]
I've just been wondering, what is the time that passes between one moment to another.
Lets take an example that we have a single light source, so small that it emits only a single, constant beam of ...
- 101
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66
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Minimum amount of space [duplicate]
I always believed that there were no limits in the world and then I learned that a minimum temperature exists, and maybe a maximum speed. And now I am wondering about the boundaries of the world.
Is ...
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Discreteness of the universe and evidence for simulation [duplicate]
To my untrained thinking, the Planck length / Planck time implies there is a fundamental granularity or quantisation to the universe. In other words, the universe has a certain “resolution” such that ...
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Quantized spacetime structure? [duplicate]
Is quantized spacetime more like a chessboard or a matrix of lights? I have heard two analogies, the light bulb one appears to allow for movement whilst the chess piece one seems to violate zenos ...
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Can a region of space-time be viewed as a particle with properties of it's own? [duplicate]
Can a piece of space-time having 3 spacial dimensions and 1 dimension of time be viewed as a particle? Could this piece of space-time have properties of its own (mass, spin, charge) independent of ...
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Is the position of matter discrete in universe? [duplicate]
In computer, for example, if we use integer to represent position of objects, position can be (0,0) , (3,5), but not in (1.5,3.5).
In real world, there are something that is discrete, such as atomic ...
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Aren't we crossing infinity? [duplicate]
Couldn't there be infinitely small time units? When a second passes, aren't we passing infinite units of time? When we walk across a room, aren't we passing an infinite amount of small length units? ...
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Does the Planck scale imply that spacetime is discrete?
On a quantum scale the smallest unit is the Planck scale, which is a discrete measure.
There several question that come to mind:
Does that mean that particles can only live in a discrete grid-like ...
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Is there such a thing as a "physical" fractal?
The recent discovery of a molecule that mimics the Sierpinski gasket has spurred headlines identifying it as the first fractal scientists have found in nature. I find these claims highly dubious ...
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How is it possible to differentiate or integrate with respect to discrete time or space?
As far as I have understood, the case is that there is nothing that argues that time or space is continuous, but at the same time we must assume this in order to be able to calculate derivatives or ...
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What things in our universe can be considered uncountable? [closed]
I am taking a course in mathematics that covers countability. The trick with the uncountability of the real line is that no matter how many times you divide up an interval, there would still be a real ...
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Is space-time a special form of energy?
I know space-time can be influenced by matter and energy, so it must be somehow mingled in with the mix of it all, but does space-time have a fundamental particle? Can we make a little bit of space-...
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Are length contractions limited by Planck length?
While we are getting closer to speed of light our length in the direction of the movement is according to Lorentz transformation getting shorter. But we can not (even theoretically) consider length ...
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Why is it more convenient to consider spacetime as a continuum?
I often find that phisicists and cosmologists make use of Planck's units. I have read propositions that sound like
"...at the level of Planck's units many law of physics break down"
"......
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496
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"Before" the Big Bang was the Universe really compressed into a mathematical point? [duplicate]
A couple of weeks ago a teacher of mine (I'm taking mathematics) was giving a final inspiring lecture about how fundamental Math is to every possible universe. During the lecture though, he said that ...
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Can universal continuity be experimentally falsified?
It is an unresolved question whether the universe is discrete or continuous in its intricate quantum level structure.
See for example:
Is the universe finite and discrete?
How could spacetime become ...
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Is the space of possible positions of a particle in QM discrete?
I recently updated my understanding about quantum mechanics from popular science level to basic undergraduate level.
What surprised me is that for the quantum state of a particle, the wave function ...
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213
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Surreal numbers and "zig-zag" shapes [closed]
This question has been reworded.
Is there an experiment which can distinguish between mathematical models of physical space based on real numbers and models based on other types of numbers e.g. ...
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Will an eventual discreteness of spacetime have consequences in the light of Noether's theorem?
No doubt Noether's theorem holds for the symmetry of translations in space and time. But what if we zoom in on very small lengths and times, and spacetime maybe becomes discrete? Will this have ...
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What does "continuous spacetime" mean?
I often encounter discussions, such as seen here, about whether spacetime is discrete or continuous. However, I am only familiar with continuity as being a property of functions. I saw this question ...
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Can a particle in superposition act as x*(energy?)
I can't find an answer anywhere - I even asked my physics teacher, he hasn't a clue. Is superposition an illusion, or can a particle literally act as an $x$ number of particles?
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Why is continuous space-time necessary for conservation laws?
I'm aware of Noether's theorem and symmetries leading to conserved quantities.
Excuse me if this is a straightforward result in the underlying math but as a newb to the math, I want to ask, are ...
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139
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Space and time quanta? [closed]
Is there a possibility the space and the time are not continuous, but rather, quantified (only some positions in the space exist, and some instants in the arrow of time) ?
Hopes my question is clear.
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Implications of quantized spacetime on conservation of angular momentum
These two related questions cover the potential effects of quantized spacetime:
Does the Planck scale imply that spacetime is discrete?
Is spacetime discrete or continuous?
This question extends ...
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Minimal Requirements for Space and Time
I read recently that to consider the Planck length of less than 1.6 x 10 exp -34 meters the smallest unit that can manifest 4 coordinate space time to be incorrect in its interpretation. The reason ...
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If spacetime is discrete, would we observe continuous models to show non-rounding and non-truncation errors?
Typically, the ground truth is taken to be the continuous model. Numerical simulations are taken to be the approximation. These simulations deviate from the continuous model due to both a constant ...
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What's the resolution of gravitational time dilation?
Time dilation near a gravitating mass depends on the distance to that mass. So I assume that time at 1 meter from a very massive object goes slightly slower than at 1.01 meters, and also slower than ...
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Discrete structure of moving light in space-time. Does the light actually moving or it is triggered by cells of space-time? [duplicate]
I have an idea that seems for me interesting and exotic.
It is not about a traveling with speed of light or observing a frozen light. Rather it is about the nature of light/photons and discrete ...
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Why are physical systems continuous?
To my (very limited) knowledge, physical systems (fluids, for example) can't have jump discontinuities.
Why?
Which fundamental laws can this be derived from, if any?
This question is related to
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