Mr. Paradox said:If someone were to remove all of the gravitational influences on a portion of space would that essentially make that portion of spacetime flat? (Just curious)
Spacetime is the fabric of the universe that combines the three dimensions of space and the dimension of time. It is important to understand because it is how we perceive and experience the world around us and it is the basis of Einstein's theory of general relativity.
Flat spacetime means that the curvature of spacetime is zero, meaning that objects move in a straight line and time moves at a constant rate. This is the basic assumption of Newtonian physics.
Yes, it is possible for spacetime to be flat. In fact, in certain situations, such as in the absence of massive objects, spacetime is considered to be flat. However, in the presence of massive objects, spacetime is curved due to the effects of gravity.
The curvature of spacetime can be measured using Einstein's field equations, which relate the distribution of matter and energy in a given space to the curvature of spacetime.
If spacetime were found to be flat, it would challenge our current understanding of the universe as described by Einstein's theory of general relativity. It would also have implications for our understanding of the expansion of the universe and the behavior of massive objects such as black holes.