O

O

Observer

A person or piece of equipment that measures something in physics. Frequently, we speak of an observer measuring time or a distance in a particular place.

Back to Top

Origin

A particular point with respect to which positions are measured.  For example, positions on the Earth are frequently measured relative to the point on the Equator which is due South of Greenwich, England.  In GPS coordinates, that point is given as 0,0 (its latitude is 0, and its longitude is 0).  Or we might say something like “10 miles southeast of town hall.”  In that case, town hall would be the origin.

Back to Top

Four Areas of Science

Inspiration

The fault, dear Brutus,
Is not in our stars,
But in ourselves...

Julius Caesar
(I, ii, 140–141)

Featured Video

About SXS

The SXS project is a collaborative research effort involving multiple institutions. Our goal is the simulation of black holes and other extreme spacetimes to gain a better understanding of Relativity, and the physics of exotic objects in the distant cosmos.

The SXS project is supported by Canada Research Chairs, CFI, CIfAR, Compute Canada, Max Planck Society, NASA, NSERC, the NSF, Ontario MEDI, the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, and XSEDE.

Our Latest Tweet

Twitter response: "Could not authenticate you."