- #1
NanakiXIII
- 392
- 0
I got this formula for calculating the distance between spacetime intervals at Wikipedia:
ds^2 = c^2dt^2 - dx^2 - dy^2 - dz^2
Now first I thought the d was supposed to be the Greek delta which my physics teacher uses to indicate a difference of the following variable, instead of just a simple value, but when looking at other sites, I saw they also used the d. So my question is, is this the same as the delta?
Secondly, I was wondering if someone could explain this formula to me. I understand what it says (if the d is indeed what I thought it was - the delta), but not why this is the formula.
ds^2 = c^2dt^2 - dx^2 - dy^2 - dz^2
Now first I thought the d was supposed to be the Greek delta which my physics teacher uses to indicate a difference of the following variable, instead of just a simple value, but when looking at other sites, I saw they also used the d. So my question is, is this the same as the delta?
Secondly, I was wondering if someone could explain this formula to me. I understand what it says (if the d is indeed what I thought it was - the delta), but not why this is the formula.