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Jan11-12, 07:43 PM   #1
 

What does the time coordinate represent in spacetime?


Hello PF,
I have just been given an introduction to special relativity and its postulates. One of the consequences of special relativity of course is that space and time are entangled and that in order to assign a coordinate to an event, you must give it spatial (x, y ,z) and temporal coordinates (t). My problem is that I cant get my head around what the temporal coordinate on its own stands for.
For example, the spatial coordinate represents the position of an event relative to the origin of the reference frame, but what does the time coordinate represent on its own? If I was at the origin and assigned an event the coordinates (100m,0,0,10s), for example, what does the time coordinate stand for?

Thanks in advance.
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