Home > Space

1 Physics

The definition of space in physics is contentious. Various concepts used to try to define space have included:

• the structure defined by the set of "spatial relationships" between objects
• a manifold defined by a coordinate system where an object can be located
• the entity that stops all objects in the universe from touching one another
• the condition within the conceptual field of Existence that provides the 'ground' for any manifested form and as such it enables the movement and all physical dynamics

In classical physics, space is a three-dimensional Euclidean space where any position can be described using three coordinates. Relativistic physics examines spacetime rather than space; spacetime is modeled as a four-dimensional manifold.

Two important thought-experiments connected with these questions are: Newton's bucket argument and Poincaré's sphere-world.

See also: Spherical coordinates, Cartesian coordinates, Philosophy of physics

2 Region

The term space can refer to the relatively empty parts of the UniverseAlternate uses: See Universe (disambiguation In the first half of the 20th century, the word universe was used to mean the whole spacetime continuum in which we exist, together with all the energy and matter within it. Attempts to understand the universe, outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. See outer spaceFor other meanings of the term space see space. Outer space (also called just space , as a name for a region, refers to the relatively empty parts of the Universe, outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. The term outer space is used to distinguish it and Boundary to space. Space is referred to also as the " cosmosFor other uses of the word, see cosmos (disambiguation The cosmos is the universe, especially when thought of as an orderly or harmonious system. I doubt the accuracy of what appears below; see the discussion page. Sometimes the term 'cosmos' is considere". Many other references also.

3 Mathematics

In mathematicsMathematics is commonly defined as the study of patterns of structure, change, and space; more informally, one might say it is the study of "figures and numbers". In the formalist view, it is the investigation of axiomatically defined abstract structures, a space is a setThis article is about sets in mathematics. For other meanings, see Set (disambiguation). Sets are one of the most important and fundamental concepts in modern mathematics. Basic set theory, having only been invented at the end of the 19th century, is now, usually with some additional structure.

For examples, see Euclidean space, vector space, normed vector space, affine space, projective space, Banach space, inner product space, Hilbert space, topological space, uniform space, metric space, probability space.