Space-like continuum as a physical reality of the universe

Abstract

It is substantiated that the unattainable space-like (SL) continuum of the universe at constant speeds of movement is a physical reality at accelerated speeds of movement. It is shown that such physical phenomena as inertia, time slowing, and Lorentz contraction in the special theory of relativity (SRT) occur in the SL-world in the process of accelerated body movement and, accordingly, in non-inertial frames of reference. The acceleration of inertia is not a property of the time-like part of the continuum, but of the space-like part of the continuum. This is a property of the empty space-time continuum, namely the SL-continuum, in the presence of external forces to prevent a change in the body's velocity. The slowing down of time and Lorentzian contraction are also a consequence of the accelerated movement of the body when it reaches a value of constant speed, that is, it occurs in the process of the formation of an inertial system. In this direction, the issues of complementarity of motions in the Euclidean and pseudo-Euclidean continuum, the condition of mutual transformation of the time-like (TL) state and the SL-state of the continuum are investigated. Formula expressions of the principle of complementarity of motions for the Euclidean and pseudo-Euclidean continuum are presented. It is argued that the pseudo-Euclidean geometry is the general geometry of real space-time, first of all, because in the history of the movement of any body, acceleration was present in one way or another. Using the example of Euclidean space, it is demonstrated that the transformation of Lorentz coordinates in a geometrical relation plays the role of rotation of a four-dimensional world interval with indivisible components of space and time and is a projection onto a coordinate system where these characteristics are separated and considered as independent. It is substantiated that for the Lorentz contraction, we are not talking about a real reduction in the length of a moving object, but about the length measured by an unperturbed observer. As for the slowing down of time, there is a real slowing down of time for the object that was moving. And it happens only in non-inertial frames of reference, that is, in the presence of acceleration, that is, in the SL world. Therefore, it is the properties of the SL world that determine the phenomena of time slowing down and Lorentz contraction. It is the SL-continuum that is responsible for the STV phenomena, it is for the SL-continuum that Lorentz transformations were discovered and the concept of pseudo-Euclidean space-time was introduced. Therefore, the special theory of relativity can rightly be called the theory of space-time in the SL world.