Basis Vector in GR: Cartesian Plane Comparisons

Tony Stark · Jul 8, 2015

I Have been reading hartle's book on Gr which states that basis four vectors point in x,y,z,t coordinate axes. So are they similar to the coordinate axis of Cartesian plane.

PeterDonis · Jul 8, 2015

Tony Stark said:

are they similar to the coordinate axis of Cartesian plane

Only in the very general sense that basis vectors point along coordinate axes. Coordinates in GR in general will not have many of the special properties that Cartesian coordinates on a plane have: a big one is that the basis vectors may not be orthonormal (which means the coordinate axes may not be perpendicular, and the lengths of the basis vectors may not all be the same).

pervect · Jul 9, 2015

I'm getting the sense that Hartle may be too advanced a text for the OP. Perhaps something like "Exploring black holes" would be a better choice.

Basis Vector in GR: Cartesian Plane Comparisons

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Basis Vector in GR: Cartesian Plane Comparisons

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