<html>
<body>
$date = "1970-01-01 00:00:00";
$pattern = "/([-\s:])/";
$components = preg_split($pattern, $date, -1,
PREG_SPLIT_DELIM_CAPTURE);
print_r($components);
</body>
</html>
Array ( [0] => 1970 [1] => - [2] => 01 [3] => - [4] => 01 [5] => [6] => 00 [7] => : [8] => 00 [9] => : [10] => 00 )