Hartle-Hawking state

noun

A hypothetical state of the universe prior to the Planck epoch, in which time did not exist, only space.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounHartle-Hawking state (plural Hartle-Hawking states)

plural Hartle-Hawking states

  1. natural sciencesA hypothetical state of the universe prior to the Planck epoch, in which time did not exist, only space.

Origin

Named after James Hartle and Stephen Hawking.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Hartle-Hawking state. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hartle-Hawking%20state

MLA

“Hartle-Hawking state.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hartle-Hawking%20state. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hartle-Hawking state,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hartle-Hawking%20state.

Source: Hartle-Hawking state on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.