Fourth Dimension?

Question

What is and/or where is the fourth dimension?

Answer 1

you can have only 3 dimensions.

time cannot be 4th dimension.

3 dimensions are physical- height, length, and breadth.

Time doesn't belong to physical stuff.

Time is a concept.

Physical dimensions and time are 2 completely unrelated items and you cannot combine them and make 4 dimensions.

Use some logic. Just because some scientists including Einstein etc mention these 4 dimension concept don't accept it.

They are not always right. They are just expressing their ideas, it doesn't mean they are right always.

There are only 3 dimensions. you cannot have more than 3 dimensions.

you can combine time with the 3 physical dimensions for certain discussion purpose, that is fine.

But time is not part of physical dimensions.

There are only 3 dimensions.

Answer 2

Time is often called the fourth dimension, because it can be thought of that way. But if you're talking about a fourth spatial dimension, then I suggest reading an oldie but a goodie called:

Flatland: a romance of many dimensions
Author: Abbott

It will walk you through the process of understanding going from one dimension to two, two dimensions to three. Unless you're the next super genius of history, you won't be able to actually visualize a fourth dimension (I personally don't think we're capable of visualizing it because of our three dimensional perspective), but you should be able to reach a point where you understand what it is the fourth dimension is.

One thing I remember from the book that might help.

Imagine you were talking to a 2D creature, and trying to explain the third dimension. The 2D being would have no frame of reference. So you could say, "Ok. You know what a circle is? Even though he could only see the outside of a circle, his mathematics could predict the inside of a circle the same way that you and I know we have insides, even though we don't see them every day. Or we can imagine the core of Earth, or a solid box.

So tell this 2D being, "Ok, 2D being. Imagine that you are at the center of a circle, and you travel in a straight line and at every point along the line of travel, you are equidistant from every point on the circumference of the circle."

We in a 3D world can imagine that we are traveling straight up from the center of the circle (basically, along the axis of a cone). A 2D being would have a very hard time understanding this concept.

In a similar manner, those of us in a 3D world can imagine a 4D being telling us, "Ok, 3D being. Imagine that you start at the center of a sphere, and you move in a direction such that you are always equidistant from the surface of that sphere."

We can't really imagine it. But that would be moving into the fourth dimension, if one exists.

Another way to look at it is to take a cube and extend it in each direction, then use your mind to connect all of the sides to the appropriate side of the other extended cubes. But we'd probably need a graphic to show that one...

Superstring Theory and M-Theory both have multiple dimensions. In fact, I think a certain number of dimensions (10 or 11?) are required for some of the theories.

Answer 3

you mean a fourth dimension of space,

since a dimension of time is somewhat seperate




it is just another way for matter to express itself.

An example would be from 2 to 3rd dimension. Matter in the second dimension (cartoons) balloons into depth as you add the third dimension.


read some of the steven hawkings books for info on this stuff

Answer 4

Hi there! Of course I had to plead the 5th first(chuckles) When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars Then peace will guide the planets And love will steer the stars This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius The Age of Aquarius Harmony and understanding Sympathy and trust abounding No more falsehoods or derisions Golden living dreams of visions Mystic crystal revelation And the mind's true liberation BUT I think people don't realize that there is a 2 dimensional rift that obscures the other Dimensions! It is inter dimensionality. Thanks for the Fine Question! .

Answer 5

if you take what the 1st dimension is; flat onto something that is 2 dimentional and then 3rd dimentional;look at your hand, you can look right the way around it. the fourth dimension moves onto time. an additional spacial dimension. if you want to learn/experience the fourth dimension, acid/lsd is a good place to start. here is some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_dimension

Answer 6

Fourth Dimension = Time
Fifth Dimension = God.

Answer 7

Time is the fourth dimension. Giving a location is not precise unless you give the time of day and date, by doing this you fix your place in time and space.

Answer 8

The 4th dimension is time. You might check an old book by Gamow, called "One... Two... Three... Infinity"

Everything existing in 3-space also exists in 4-space. And just as a 3-D person can cast a 2-D shadow on a piece of paper, our 3-D selves are merely 3-D shadows of our 4-D existence.

It's a cool book. Read it when I was a kid. Found an error in their complex variable calculations. But the ideas it presents are awesome.

Answer 9

As for "where" - we can't say. It would be outside of the universe, just as "up" is no longer on the surface of a piece of paper that is a 2d universe.... If I were to point in that direction, my arm would vanish. It's in direction W. (where X, Y, and Z are our usual directions). ;)

As for what it is - that all depends on how you order them. I've heard/read about time being the 4th dimension. Gravity could easily be this direction, since mass supposedly warps spacetime. If it bends, it seems logical that it would bend in "some direction" and that wouldn't be in any of our physical ones, now would it? Or it could just be a direction that we can't move in, so we actually don't have any name for that at all.

Answer 10

I read somewhere about a fifth dimension (the three typical dimensions, plus time and energy). So I can envision five dimensions.

However, according to quantum mechanics (or something related in physics, my memory escapes me), it is theorized there are eleven or twelve dimensions, which totally boggles my mind.