What is the space time continuum?
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All things have the potential to exist, which would make the universe infinite. However, not all things do exist, which makes the universe less than infinite, but more than finite (this is the simplest case of language being insufficient for the task at hand). We’ll say the universe is “transfinite” and leave it at that.
All things that do exist do so simultaneously, though the implication of time with the concept of simultaneity isn’t entirely accurate either. Of the things that do exist, all are connected by bonds of “probability” with the lowest aggregate state of energy. These bonds of probability are the sub- quantum nuclear force. This is the foundation of what we call “time”. The state of being called “you” at any given instant is linked by bonds of probability to the states of being called “you” that are almost identical. The stronger the field, the slower the energy transfer and flow of “time”. Each thread of “past”, “present” and “future” is its own microuniverse, extending from the beginning of the universe to its eventual end. This happens all the way down to a subatomic level, until the random fluctuations of energy become great enough to make cause and effect break down. We see this phenomenon as electron tunneling or quantum teleportation. You might also note that quantum entanglement operates instantly over any distance, because it is not subject to time. At a still smaller scale, energy and probability are a chaotic sea where everything is connected to everything else, a reservoir of infinite energy and infinite possibility that is, however, infinitely difficult to tap or control.
Space and time are related to one another.
Humans like to think of space existing, and time passing, but that might not be so simple in all circumstances.
A photon for example experiences no time. None at all. Time does not pass for it.
If you got in a spaceship and went very fast, close to the speed of light, and returned to earth, more time would have passed on earth than in your ship. You would have “traveled through time” upon arriving home.
Why? Because space and time are knit together.
The speed of light is a point where time ceases to exist, and it can almost be thought of as a speed limit. A way of saying “*our universe relates this much space to this much time*”
Continuum just means there aren’t any gaps in it.
I think it is worth pointing out that the physical entity is usually just called “spacetime”, whereas “space time continuum” is usually used in Star Trek and only vaguely relates to the physical entity.
Because space consists of 3 dimensions, and time is 1-dimensional, space-time must, therefore, be a 4-dimensional object. It is believed to be a ‘continuum’, or constantly continuous and unbroken, because so far as we know, there are no missing points in space or instants in time, and both can be subdivided without any apparent limit in size or duration. So, physicists now routinely consider our world to be embedded in this 4-dimensional Space-Time continuum, and all events, places, moments in history, actions and so on are described in terms of their location in Space-Time.
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