What is a spacelike geodesic?

In general relativity, a geodesic generalizes the notion of a “straight line” to curved spacetime. In other words, a freely moving or falling particle always moves along a geodesic.

What does null geodesic mean?

A curve in space-time which has the property that the infinitesimal interval between any two neighboring points on the curve equals zero; it represents a possible path of a light ray. Also known as zero geodesic.

What is spacelike and timelike?

If the interval’s time component (multiplied by the speed of light) has a greater magnitude than its space component, it is timelike. If the interval’s space component has a greater magnitude than its time component (multiplied by the speed of light), it is spacelike.

What is geodesic line?

geodesic line – (mathematics) the shortest line between two points on a mathematically defined surface (as a straight line on a plane or an arc of a great circle on a sphere)

Why do objects follow geodesics?

Mass bends spacetime and objects move in spacetime along geodesics. Thus mass effects how objects move though bending spacetime. That is gravity. Light also follows geodesics.

What does Spacelike mean in physics?

Adjective. spacelike (not comparable) having the properties of space. (physics, of the interval between two events in spacetime) lying outside each other’s light cone, so that no information can pass from one to the other.

What does Spacelike separated mean?

space-like: the two events are too far apart (in space). light-like: exactly in between, the events are so far away that if you are as fast as light, you can see both events.

What is geodesic in geodesy?

A geodesic is the shortest path between two points on a curved surface, analogous to a straight line on a plane surface. If the Earth is treated as a sphere, the geodesics are great circles (all of which are closed) and the problems reduce to ones in spherical trigonometry.

How do you get geodesic?

A curve α : I → S parametrized by arc length is called a geodesic if for any two points P = α(s1),Q = α(s2) on the curve which are sufficiently close to each other, the piece of the trace of α between P and Q is the shortest of all curves in S which join P and Q.