Editing Absolute space and time (section)

==Newton==
Originally introduced by [[Sir Isaac Newton]] in ''[[Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]'', the concepts of absolute time and space provided a theoretical foundation that facilitated [[Newtonian mechanics]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Elements of Newtonian Mechanics |edition=illustrated |first1=Jens M. |last1=Knudsen |first2=Poul |last2=Hjorth |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-3-642-97599-8 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rkP1CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA30}}</ref> According to Newton, absolute time and space respectively are independent aspects of objective reality:<ref name="Newton">{{Cite book |last1=Newton |first1=Isaac |url=http://archive.org/details/newtonspmathema00newtrich |title=Newton's Principia : the mathematical principles of natural philosophy |last2=Chittenden |first2=N. W. Life of Sir Isaac Newton |last3=Adee |first3=Daniel |last4=Motte |first4=Andrew |last5=Hill |first5=Theodore Preston Early American mathematics books CU-BANC |date=1846 |publisher=New-York : Published by Daniel Adee |others=University of California Libraries}}</ref>

<blockquote>Absolute, true and mathematical time, of itself, and from its own nature flows equably without regard to anything external, and by another name is called duration: relative, apparent and common time, is some sensible and external (whether accurate or unequable) measure of duration by the means of motion, which is commonly used instead of true time ...</blockquote>

According to Newton, absolute time exists independently of any perceiver and progresses at a consistent pace throughout the universe. Unlike relative time, Newton believed absolute time was imperceptible and could only be understood mathematically. According to Newton, humans are only capable of perceiving relative time, which is a measurement of perceivable objects in motion (like the Moon or Sun). From these movements, we infer the passage of time.

{{Blockquote|Absolute space, in its own nature, without regard to anything external, remains always similar and immovable. Relative space is some movable dimension or measure of the absolute spaces; which our senses determine by its position to bodies: and which is vulgarly taken for immovable space ...

Absolute motion is the translation of a body from one absolute place into another: and relative motion, the translation from one relative place into another ...|Isaac Newton}}

These notions imply that absolute space and time do not depend upon physical events, but are a backdrop or stage setting within which physical phenomena occur. Thus, every object has an absolute state of motion relative to absolute space, so that an object must be either in a state of absolute [[Rest (physics)|rest]], or moving at some absolute [[speed]].<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-iframes/ Space and Time: Inertial Frames (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)]</ref> To support his views, Newton provided some empirical examples: according to Newton, a solitary rotating sphere can be inferred to rotate about its axis relative to absolute space by observing the bulging of its equator, and a solitary pair of spheres tied by a rope can be inferred to be in [[absolute rotation]] about their center of gravity ([[Barycentric coordinates (astronomy)|barycenter]]) by observing the tension in the rope.