we have learned about 2D and 3D pictures, but is there such thing as 4D, 5D and more..... can we as humans see through these dimensions, which is more than 3D.
2007-01-16 01:56:03 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Yes we can, but...
Geometrical explanation
Imagine you become a 'flatlander'. That is a creature that exists in two dimensions. You can go up or down, left or right any where you like however you are bounded to the flatness of the surface. A surface is like a sheet of paper or a page in a book. If you are looking at the object of a 3-D world you can only see a 2-D slice of it produced by your 2-D world.
So for us the 3-D creatures we can only see a 3-D slice of a 4-D world and similarly higher dimensions.
Curiously, in string theory (the theory of everything) we are playing with say 11-D spaces...hmmm.
2007-01-16 01:59:59 · answer #1 · answered by Edward 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
By sight, we can only really perceive the world in 2 and a half spatial dimensions because the image of the world is projected onto the area of our retinas. Because we have 2 eyes, we can infer distance in the third dimension. Only through touch can we accurately percieve three spatial dimensions.
An image of a higher order dimension can be projected to have 1 less dimension, e.g. a 3D object casts a 2D shadow.
It is possible to model multi dimensional objects mathematically using matrices, the problem arises when trying to portray these objects. Consider that a computer screen is only 2 dimensional. You can just about create a 2D representation of the 3D shadow of a 4D object. The shadow will just remain a constant 3D object until you move or rotate the 4D object at which point the 3D shadow will change shape in accordance with the rotation.
String theory is an abstract model of the universe which suggests the existence of 11 spatial dimensions plus time (note time is not considered to be a SPATIAL dimension). String theorists believe and claim these 11 spatial dimensions to be real. How they go about proving this is anyone's guess.
Cheers.
2007-01-16 10:36:30 · answer #2 · answered by chopchubes 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For some reason this question attracted a lot of responses which are basically gibberish.
You can't see more than 3 dimensions - because your eye is 3 dimensional - in a sense you can only see 2 though we infer 3. The best way to imagine what it would be like seeing a higher dimension (I know the 4th dimension in physics is time but you're not asking about Einstein's spacetime) is to read some books on the subject - Abbotts 'flatland' has already been remarked upon and 'hyperspace' by Kaku is also very good.
In some television programs about M-theory or in the books they shows a folded up sheet which is meant to represent higher dimensions but there's simply no way to visualise them - you could look up tesseracts though which are unfolded hypercubes - its actually a fascinating subject and there is a site where you can see shadows of hypercubes. Some scientists believe there may be a large other spatial dimension very close to us but we can't see it because it doesnt interact and our eyes can't see things there.
2007-01-16 14:33:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 4th dimension is common recognized as time, so you would define a particular point in time and space, e.g. your computer at the time you're reading this, by using four dimensions (x, y, z, and time). Such a defined point is utterly unique in all the universe, never able to be repeated.
Dimensions above 4 are commonly used in radical mathematics, but generally have little applicability to the real world. However, there are some fringe arenas of physics that consider multiple dimensions to be part of the universe, and that we're only aware of the 3 (and dimly the 4th).
2007-01-16 10:08:07 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a total of n different dimensions (where n is an integer). We can't see more than 3D, though 4D includes time. Not entirely sure what 5D and above include!
2007-01-16 10:00:00 · answer #5 · answered by Natalie B 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, of course. We experience 4D on a daily basis (including the time dimension), but scientists think there could be as many as 11 or 12.
Don't try to puzzle it out though, it's beyond us to imagine it.
2007-01-17 11:20:38 · answer #6 · answered by Hello Dave 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People say there is a 4th dimension in space. I think there is not. I think in a function the 4th variable that the other 3 dimensions depend on may be the time. But time is not a dimension. It is just a variable that the 3 dimensions depend on.
2007-01-16 10:02:15 · answer #7 · answered by Salih D 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would suggest if you really want to know more,look up the "M"theory,also known as the theory of everything(einstien was trying to solve this)which led to this theory also known as "the string theory".In this theory ,it theorizes that there are 10 dimensions,held together by a membrane(making it the 11th dimension) so in this theory there are 11 total dimensions
2007-01-16 10:37:21 · answer #8 · answered by stygianwolfe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only place where you can see the other dimensions is on, The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits.
2007-01-16 10:05:41 · answer #9 · answered by Studly Jim 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is getting into string theory in which the discussion of eleven dimensions comes up a lot. That's including time, 10w/o.
2007-01-16 10:14:52 · answer #10 · answered by lyyman 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋