On this day in physics: 01 February 2003- The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated in the atmosphere over Texas. Foam on the wing was damaged and allowed hot air inside one of the wings causing it to break apart in the atmosphere. I actually remember when this incident happened, because it was one of only a few tragedies to occur in the space program. It is a painful reminder of how easily things can go wrong during space exploration, but also a vast credit to the amount of engineering that has gone correctly over the past 50+ years of the space program. Anyhow, Physics 365 salutes everyone aboard the Columbia.
Word of the Day: Spacetime- Spacetime is a concept which was first introduced by Albert Einstein which contains 3 spacial dimensions and 1 time direction. It is referred to as the fabric of the cosmos. One very important facet of the notion of spacetime is that it binds time as a dimension, and insinuates that it is subject to the same manipulation as space, meaning that both space and time can be warped by gravity (or mass) and velocity. The faster you move through space, the slower time will elapse for you relative to slower travelling objects. Also, the faster you travel, the shorter space will become for you. Massive objects also warp space time. It's an amazing construct with which we are able to navigate this universe. The most classic example of visualizing mass warping space time is the taught bedsheet and the bowling ball. I think everyone has seen this before. The only thing to realize about this example is that the sheet is only 2 dimensions, and the way that spacetime is warped in our universe is in 3 dimensions (plus time!)
Quote of the Day: "Spacetime tells matter how to move, matter tells spacetime how to curve." -John Archibald Wheeler [Source].
Keywords: Einstein, Fabric, Space, Time, Spacetime, Curve, Matter, Warp, Space, Shuttle, Columbia.
