Temporal Interpretation
If the w-coordinate of the equation of the spherical cone is interpreted as the distance ct, where t is coordinate time and c is the speed of light (a constant), then it is the shape of the light cone in special relativity. In this case, the equation is usually written as:
which is also the equation for spherical wave fronts of light. The upper nappe is then the future light cone and the lower nappe is the past light cone.
Read more about this topic: Spherical Cone
Famous quotes containing the word temporal:
“Social questions are too sectional, too topical, too temporal to move a man to the mighty effort which is needed to produce great poetry. Prison reform may nerve Charles Reade to produce an effective and businesslike prose melodrama; but it could never produce Hamlet, Faust, or Peer Gynt.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)