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The Fourth Dimension. Understanding The Fourth Dimension. The Fourth Dimension has been defined as a time in relativity theory: time in relativity theory modified mathematically and used in combination with the usual three spatial dimensions to specify the location in space and time of events.
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Understanding The Fourth Dimension • The Fourth Dimension has been defined as a time in relativity theory: time in relativity theory modified mathematically and used in combination with the usual three spatial dimensions to specify the location in space and time of events. • In simpler words, the Fourth Dimension is a dimension of time. According to Carl Sagan, “if we were to visualize ourselves in the fourth dimension, it would be a long, stretched out version of ourselves, from the moment of conception to the very microsecond before we die”.
Tesseract • Charles Howard Hinton coined the term Tesseract, which introduced a method for visualizing the fourth dimension using cubes. • ATesseractalso known as an 8-cell or regular octahedron or cubic prism, is the Fourth Dimensional analog of the cube.
Vectors • To describe the Fourth Dimension, mathematicians use vectors. Four Dimensional space is a space with four spatial dimensions that need four parameters to specify a point in it. • A vector of the fourth dimension looks like this:
Cross Sections • If a 3D object were to pass through a 2D pane, a 2D being would only be able to see a cross-section of the 3D object. An example to further understand this is, if a balloon were to pass through a sheet a paper, a being on the paper would only see circular object gradually grow larger and then smaller. • If a 4D object were to pass through our 3D world, then we would therefore only see the 3D version of the 4D object.
Dimensional Analogy • Dimensional analogy is a device used to understand four dimensional space. By definition, it is the study of how (n-1) dimensions relate to n dimensions, and then inferring how ndimensions would relate to (n+1) dimensions.
Flatland • Flatland is a book by Edwin Abbott Abbott that uses dimensional analogy to narrate the life of square living in a two dimensional world. From the square’s point of view, a 3D object is god-like. For us in the third dimension, a 4D object would seem just the same, capable of feats unknown to us.
Shadows • Another interesting concept of the dimensions is the idea of shadows. As we all know, in our 3D world shadows appear as 2D. But in a 2D world, shadows would only be 1D. Therefore, in a 4D world, shadows are three dimensional.
Cognition of the Fourth Dimension • Although it seems hard to imagine, studies have shown that humans can make spatial judgments of Fourth Dimensional space such as; length, angles, and line segments. • 2D, 3D, and 4D mazes were created by scientists and tested by humans with minimal practice in these areas, and showed that humans could orient themselves in these mazes.
Sources • http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+fourth+dimension&qpvt=fourth+dimension+definition&FORM=DTPDIA • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-dimensional_space • http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/kleincol.jpg • http://api.ning.com/files/tKWTIAeBSjr3HwSawYHUPU4VolYekTZ6F0ZPS6IxaoZZXiWRyb1A*UKVyZrY-yKou1RXBhn7WdGPbB26bkWaAVjxcWwHOg6J/Tesseract.jpg
