Is space covariant or contravariant?
in [Math]
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From: rudi on 16 Jul 2010 04:31 I often meet the question whether the (physical) space is 'covariant' or 'contravariant'. I once replied to that question with: Space is space. The components of a tensor are covariant/contravariant if the basis is CHOSEN TO BE contravariant/covariant. As far as I know tensors the 'covariance' or 'contravariance' of space itself is not even the question. The thing is that the professors were not satisfied with the answer. They said the space is contravariant. So, I am confused. As far as I know tensors, or better saying tensor components, the 'covariance' or 'contravariance' depends on the choice of basis, i.e. contravariant or covariant basis. Does anyone have any ideas about that? |