It has something to do with the fourth dimension and there is absolutely nothing on the internet that ive been able to find from the regular search engines.
2007-03-12 14:41:07 · 3 answers · asked by boredperson 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Not having the issue in front of me, and with nothing on the discover.com site, I can only parse the word.
The "fourth dimension" they're talking about is likely a hypothetical fourth SPATIAL dimension, a place where tesseracts rotate by appearing to turn themselves inside out.
"Hendeca-" is the combining form of 11. "Tope" is a 4-dimensional object made of 3-dimenional polyedrons. Either they're talking about a 4th-dimensional projection of hendecahedrons or it's a 4th-demensional figure composed of 11 of some kind of hedrons. I guess I'll have to buy a copy to find out.
Of course, trying to figure it out from a magazine is tricky because you're two dimensions shy. The figure would already be distorted in three-dimensional space. Putting it on a flat page is extra-distorting.
I've added some links to some pages on polytopes (or polychorons as some people call them). (No Hendeca-anything but maybe soon.) The alkaline.org link seems to load funny, but there's lots to explore among all these.
2007-03-12 18:34:28 · answer #1 · answered by skepsis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reason you wouldn't find anything on the word hedecatope is that it is a made-up word by the author of the article you are referring to in the April 2007 issue of Discover magazine. It is basically the author's word to describe a 4 dimensional Platanic shape with 11 sides.
Without quoting the article (which would be a copyright infringement), you can read more about it in Discover magazine on pages 28-29.
We, as humans, live in the 3rd dimension. This means that we can only see 1st, 2nd and 3rd dimensional shapes. The 4th dimension is a concept that is difficult for the human mind to comprehend since we cannot see anything in the 4th dimension. It would be the equivalent of asking a flat, two dimensional drawing to describe the third dimension. To a creature existing in the 2nd dimension, the 3rd dimension doesn't exist! It would merely be a construct of his/her mind.
In the Discover issue (page 28) there is a 3 dimensional rendering of what a 4th dimensional shape would look like. It's not exactly what it would look like since we can't see anything that potentially exists in a 4th dimension. If you want to understand more about the 4th dimension I would recommend reading a few books on the subject first.
2007-03-16 07:32:29 · answer #2 · answered by ravyn007 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sorry have never heard of that term, but the fourth demension you speak of is TIME, space is three demensions and time is the fourth, these are woven together and is called spacetime. einstein was the one who figured this out!!!!!
2007-03-12 14:57:04 · answer #3 · answered by Bones 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋