The Universe as we know it is made up of a continuum of space and time - a space-time fabric that's curved by massive objects such as stars and black holes, and which dictates the movement of matter.
Thanks to Einstein's gravitational waves, we know disturbances can propagate through both space and time. But what's less understood is exactly how that happens when properties of the fabric is continuously shifting.
That could soon be about to change. Researchers have just come up with a brand new mathematical framework that could finally explain how disturbances move through a dynamic space-time fabric - a concept known as 'field patterns'.
If that sounds mind-achingly complex, it's because it is - we're in the realm of theoretical physics here, after all. But the basic concept isn't actually that bizarre.
Field patterns, put very simply, break down space-time into a chessboard, like the one you can see below. The black squares represent one material, and the white squares represent another material with different properties.
The horizontal dimension of the chessboard represents space, and the vertical dimension represents time:
Now picture a disturbance, such as a pulse of laser light, moving forwards in time (starting at the bottom of the chessboard) and spreading out in space through the boundaries of each chessboard square, as in the animation above.
What field pattern theory aims to describe is the propagation of that pulse, and where it will end up. To do this, Milton and colleague Ornella Mattei use computer simulation to test and observe how a range of theoretical systems and patterns would behave.
You can see another example of those computer models in the illustration below - that pattern at the top is a field pattern:
Much more, plus graphics and video:
http://www.sciencealert.com/mathematicians-might-finally-be-able-to-explain-how-disturbances-propagate-through-the-fabric-of-space-time
