What Is The 4rth Dimension

[Vernie Montagna]

But when we put on 3D glasses, we see a world that we could walk in. We can imagine existing in such a three-dimensional world because we actually live in one. But for someone who's only known life in two dimensions, the third dimension would be impossible to comprehend.

And that, according to many researchers, is the reason we can't see the fourth dimension, or any other dimension beyond that. Physicists work under the assumption that there are at least 10 dimensions, but the majority of us will never "see" them. Because we only know life in 3D, our brains don't understand how to look for anything more.

A dimensional space, in mathematics and physics, is a way of describing the different directions or coordinates in which objects can exist or move. It's a mathematical concept used to understand and visualize the positioning and movement of things in our world.

In our everyday world, we often use three dimensions: height (up and down), width (left and right) and depth (forward and backward) to describe the location of objects. These three dimensions create what's called 3D space.

However, in more advanced mathematics and physics, dimensional spaces can have more than three dimensions, and they help scientists and mathematicians understand complex phenomena like quantum mechanics, string theory or data analysis in higher dimensions.

In 1884, Edwin A. Abbot published a novella that depicts the problem of seeing dimensions beyond your own. In "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions," Abbot describes the life of a square living in a two-dimensional world. Living in 2D means that the square is surrounded by circles, triangles and rectangles, but all the square sees are other lines. One day, the square is visited by a sphere.

On first glance, the sphere just looks like a circle to the square, and the square can't comprehend what the sphere means when he explains 3D objects. Eventually, the sphere takes the square to the 3D world, and the square understands. He sees not just lines, but entire shapes that have depth.

Emboldened, the square asks the sphere what exists beyond the 3D world; the sphere is appalled. The sphere can't comprehend a world beyond this, and in this way, stands in for the reader. Our brains aren't trained to see anything other than our world, and it will likely take something from another dimension to make us understand.

But what is this other dimension? Mystics used to see it as a place where spirits lived, since they weren't bound by our earthly rules. In his theory of special relativity, Einstein referred to time as the fourth dimension, but noted that time is inseparable from space.

Science-fiction aficionados may recognize that union as space-time, and indeed, the idea of a space-time continuum has been popularized by science-fiction writers for centuries (e.g., Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" or Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War").

Researchers have used Einstein's ideas to determine whether we can travel through time. While we can move in any direction in our 3D world, we can only move forward in time. Thus, traveling to the past has been deemed near-impossible, though some researchers still hold out hope for finding wormholes that connect to different sections of space-time.

In the early 19th century, mathematicians and thinkers began to explore the idea of a fourth spatial dimension beyond our familiar three dimensions (depth, width and height). August Ferdinand Mbius was among those who pondered the possibilities of this additional dimension. One of the intriguing aspects of the fourth dimension is that in it, a three-dimensional object could be rotated in such a way that it would appear as its own mirror image, a concept that challenges our intuitive understanding of space.

The tesseract, also known as a hypercube, is a common visual representation of 4D space. It is an extension of the concept of a cube (a 3D object) into the fourth dimension. While it's challenging to visualize in our three-dimensional world, mathematicians use diagrams and models to help convey the idea of a tesseract.

Later in the 19th century, mathematician Bernhard Riemann laid the foundations for true four-dimensional geometry, providing a mathematical framework for understanding and working with higher-dimensional spaces. This work became fundamental to later developments in mathematics and physics, particularly in the study of curved spaces and the theory of relativity.

If we can't use the fourth dimension to time travel, and if we can't even see the fourth dimension, then what's the point of knowing about it? Understanding these higher spatial dimensions is of importance to mathematicians and physicists because it helps them understand the world.

In mathematics, particularly in geometry, comprehending higher-dimensional spaces, including the fourth dimension, is fundamental. These spaces expand problem-solving capabilities, although visualizing them challenges our conventional three-dimensional thinking. Concepts like hypercubes enable mathematicians to explore these abstract spaces.

In geometry, the fourth dimension plays a vital role in visual representation. It extends beyond our everyday experience, challenging our ability to grasp complex spatial arrangements. While we can't directly visualize four-dimensional space, math provides tools for representing and comprehending it, expanding our geometric understanding.

In physics, the fourth dimension, as time in space-time, forms the cornerstone of our comprehension of physical laws and predictions. The theories of modern physics, like Einstein's general relativity, rely on this concept. Accurate predictions about the behavior of objects and events demand the inclusion of time as the fourth dimension.

In fact, time as the fourth dimension is crucial for reshaping our understanding of gravity in the context of general relativity. It describes gravity as the curvature of space-time by massive objects, deeply intertwined with the fourth dimension. Neglecting time in this context would make explaining gravitational phenomena very challenging.

In everyday life, tasks, such as navigation and communication, heavily depend on our grasp of time as the fourth dimension. Technologies like GPS and accurate time-keeping systems rely on this foundational understanding, enhancing our daily lives.

Moreover, the concept of the fourth spatial dimension prompts profound philosophical inquiries into the nature of time and reality, challenging our perceptions and encouraging contemplation about our place within the universe.

Lastly, in cosmology, the fourth dimension is pivotal for unveiling the history and evolution of the universe. It assists in studying significant events like the Big Bang, cosmic expansion and the formation of galaxies and stars, providing invaluable insights into the cosmos.

I traveled rather slowly around the earth back to the atmosphere above the United States (slow enough to watch a few 4th dimensional lightning storms like I like to do so much from that high up). I located my house and dove in through the brick exterior of the home and watched my own body in bed for a while. I was hesitant to go back in because in all honesty, coming back into the body is somewhat painful. You feel the weight of gravity pull at the marrow of your bones, you feel the tension in your body all at once and you have to re adjust to the feeling of being in a kind of flesh cage, which is difficult to move at first. Re-phasing is not my favorite thing. Anyway, I went to pet my dog and my arm went through his fur and body (like it so often does when we are observing and trying to interact with the third dimension from the fourth dimensional perspective). It woke him up. I re-joined my body and woke up quickly. It gave rise to a short sensation of panic. To get back into a good mindset, I turned off the fan in my room, sat against the wall and breathed myself into a meditative state.

I have been helping people transition through out of body experiences induced by trauma since I was four years old. It is very difficult sometimes to see so much suffering, but it is some of the most meaningful and rewarding work that I do. It is especially fun when people who have been obsessing about wanting to know who helped them while they were out of body, recognize me from my videos. They come to my workshops sometimes just to see me again. It feels like a reunion. Most of them cry for a long time while I hold them. We share a connection that is beyond the limited understanding of this temporary life.

A team of physicists led by Ryuhei Oka of Ehime University has measured what are known as Dirac electrons in a superconducting polymer called bis(ethylenedithio)-tetrathiafulvalene. These are electrons that exist under conditions that effectively make them massless, allowing them to behave more like photons and oscillate at the speed of light.

Superconductors, semiconductors, and topological materials are all growing in relevance, not least for their potential applications in quantum computers. But there is a lot we still don't know about these materials and the way they behave.

Dirac electrons refer to common old electrons under extraordinary conditions which require a dose of special relativity for quantum behaviors to be understood. Here, the overlap of atoms puts some of their electrons into a strange space that allow them to jump around materials with excellent energy efficiency.

In order to harness the potential of Dirac electrons, however, we need to understand them better, and this is where physicists run into a snag. Dirac electrons coexist with standard electrons, which means detecting and measuring one type is very hard to do unambiguously.

Oka and colleagues found a way to do this by leveraging a property called electron spin resonance. Electrons are charged particles that spin; this rotating distribution of charge means they each exhibit a magnetic dipole. So, when a magnetic field is applied to a material, it can interact with the spins of any unpaired electrons therein, altering their spin state.

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