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The fundamentals of space-time: Part 1 - Andrew Pontzen and Tom Whyntie

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Space is where things happen. Time is when things happen. And sometimes, in order to really look at the universe, you need to take those two concepts and mash them together. In this first lesson of a three-part series on space-time, hilarious hosts Andrew Pontzen and Tom Whyntie go through the basics of space and time individually, and use a flip book to illustrate how we can begin to look at them together.

We showed the worldlines of objects moving at a constant speed. What would a worldline look like for someone who starts out sitting down, walks across the room, then sits down again? What would a worldline look like for a smoothly accelerating car? Try thinking of other objects that you could draw worldlines for and draw them. Get your classmates to guess what it is you’ve drawn.

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Andrew Pontzen, Tom Whyntie
  • Director Patrick Semple, Mark Fisher
  • Producer Daniel Spencer
  • Narrator Andrew Pontzen, Tom Whyntie

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