We have seen, for example in rotating reference frames, that the geometry in a space with non-vanishing acceleration of gravity, may be non-Euclidean. It is easy to visualize curves and surfaces in three-dimensional space but it is difficult to grasp visually what curvature means in three-dimensional space, or worse still, in four-dimensional space-time. However the curvature of such spacesmay be discussed using the lower dimensional analogues of curves and surfaces. It is therefore important to have a good knowledge of the differential geometry of surfaces. Also the formalism used in describing surfaces may be taken over with minor modifications, when we are going to describe the geometric properties of curved space-time.
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© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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(2007). Curvature. In: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-69200-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-69200-5_7
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