<p>'spacetime' is real, however the word 'fabric' is made so that anyone can 'visualise' the meaning of space-time</p>
<p>You cant touch or feel the fabric, but you can perceive it through the bending of light over it. When someone says that the spacetime is curved around a planet, the following statement holds true:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>the time is slower near the surface of the planet relative to far away from the planet</p>
</li>
<li><p>the space is 'curved' towards the planet, so if you send a space ship to the planet, the ship will curve towards the planet, even of it is travelling on a straight path. So the straight path is not so very straight to an external observer even if it is straight for a observer going through the path</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>The word 'fabric' is used so that anyone can easily 'visualise' the spacetime</p>
<p>Our Universe has a large fabric of spacetime, with several heavy objects bending and curving it here and there.</p>
<p>The word 'spacetime' has also a non-gravity related meaning. Einstein stated that as the speed of an object increases in space, the time experienced by it decreases</p>
<p>that means that if an object travels at the speed of light through space, it will not travel through time at all. And if an is stationary in space, it will travell the fastest through time</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-02T05:26:33.013Z
2021-05-02T05:26:33.013Z
ggWellPlayed
<p>I have heard about space-time fabric but I can't understand its definition. Is space-time fabric a physical thing or did Einstein imagine it to assist him with general relativity?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-02T06:13:14.993Z
There are many questions on this topic on the Physics site, eg https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/90592/123208 & https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/309369/123208
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-02T08:05:10.247Z
See https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/43160/how-do-we-know-that-spacetime-is-fabric?r=SearchResults&s=3|42.9979 (which is closed)  Really the best thing is to go to the physics site. Read those questions and answers, and then clarify if it is still unclear.
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-02T21:42:40.457Z
[Will the “fabric of space time” rip from expansion?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/36374/7982)
uhoh
<astrophysics><space-time><general-relativity>
What exactly is space-time fabric?
Aditya Radadiya
# What exactly is space-time fabric?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-02)

I have heard about space-time fabric but I can't understand its definition. Is space-time fabric a physical thing or did Einstein imagine it to assist him with general relativity?

**Tags:** astrophysics, space-time, general-relativity

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There are many questions on this topic on the Physics site, eg https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/90592/123208 & https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/309369/123208  
> **username_2**: See https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/43160/how-do-we-know-that-spacetime-is-fabric?r=SearchResults&s=3|42.9979 (which is closed)  Really the best thing is to go to the physics site. Read those questions and answers, and then clarify if it is still unclear.  
> **username_3**: [Will the “fabric of space time” rip from expansion?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/36374/7982)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2021-05-02. Score: 4

'spacetime' is real, however the word 'fabric' is made so that anyone can 'visualise' the meaning of space-time

You cant touch or feel the fabric, but you can perceive it through the bending of light over it. When someone says that the spacetime is curved around a planet, the following statement holds true:

1. the time is slower near the surface of the planet relative to far away from the planet
2. the space is 'curved' towards the planet, so if you send a space ship to the planet, the ship will curve towards the planet, even of it is travelling on a straight path. So the straight path is not so very straight to an external observer even if it is straight for a observer going through the path

The word 'fabric' is used so that anyone can easily 'visualise' the spacetime

Our Universe has a large fabric of spacetime, with several heavy objects bending and curving it here and there.

The word 'spacetime' has also a non-gravity related meaning. Einstein stated that as the speed of an object increases in space, the time experienced by it decreases

that means that if an object travels at the speed of light through space, it will not travel through time at all. And if an is stationary in space, it will travell the fastest through time


---

