bradland t1_j3nn8gm wrote
Remember Isaac Newton? Newton is responsible for large portions of the the physics that is really useful in our day-to-day lives. For example, Newton's laws of motion offer a foundation upon which we can understand inertia, the relationship between force and acceleration, and how two objects will interact with each other if one hits the other.
The formulas that Newton (and others) developed are still used today in many fields, and all of this math treats space and time separately. We call this classical physics. So why do we need space-time at all if these formulas work for so many day-to-day applications?
As velocity increases, the formulas used in classical physics start to become inaccurate. This happens because our physical world is not absolute, but relative. Without considering these relativistic effects, the calculations made using Newtonian physics result in errors.
The new formulas developed as part of relativistic physics lead to the coupling of space & time as a way to make the calculations for accurate measurements and predictions easier.
If you have a few minutes, there are two short videos available from TED-Ed that explain space-time using simple animations. Their explanation is very accessible, and is broken down into 5 minute segments.
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScdLqAA_64E
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