Existence of Higher dimensional space & Perception of time
By Engineer Saviour – Blaze Labs
The observation that spatial dimensionality is limited to three dimensions has been for long a puzzle to scientists. Our mathematics do not limit us to three dimensions. Why are there only three dimensions? We are 3D observers, and this makes it easy for us to conceive the observed reality as 3D. We can also quite easily conceive a 2D universe as a subset of our 3D universe, and we see how complex the explanations can get in a 2D universe, for events we find simple in our 3-D universe.
The relativity theory made spatial dimensionality elastic. The space-time continuum was conceived. Four dimensional space-time was proposed and attempts to visualize a 4-D space, as an extension of our 3-D world, became popular. We talk about 3-D space being curved around some 4-D sphere like the atmosphere around the earth.
In science fiction, discussion of alternate planes, or dimensions of existence, have become ingrained. Religious “Heaven” has been moved from the stars and galaxies to these alternate dimensions. In this section I will show you how to scientifically understand higher dimensions, which will hopefully lead you to better understand the higher dimensional universe which we all form part of.
Many modern physicists, in their attempts to unify theory, have proposed the existence of many space dimensions beyond three. The multi-dimensional efforts at grand unification have indeed mathematically helped describe theory and predict experimentally observed facts, but attempts at 4D visualization seem hard indeed. We talk of extra dimensions being curled into minute 3D spaces.
One should keep in mind what we are with respect to the space around us. The answer is that each one of us is a 3 dimensional spatial observation point in space, and that dimensionality is not a property of ‘reality’, but of the being, the observer. Instead, our spatial dimensionality is a characteristic of our conceptions, our mind. This means it is a characteristic, or property, of knowledge rather than of reality. Spatial dimensionality is a property of the observer rather than of the observed.
So, is everything observed around us just an illusion? Not at all, the things around us will still exist even if no one looked at them. To say spatial dimensionality is a very powerful tool may be one of the all-time greatest understatements. However, if spatial dimensionality is a property of our knowledge, then it is not a complete universal truth, but just a shadow of the truth. The answer, of course, is that our spatial dimensionality is based upon what we see. Of all the senses which a typical person possesss, sight is the one which plays the greatest role in the perception and conception of reality. The perception of spatial dimensions does not have to be based upon sight, hearing or any of the other senses. Our eyes are essentially 2D arrays which sense light reflected from viewed objects. Therefore, we never actually ‘see’ three spatial dimensions. We see (perceive) stereographic 2D pictures. In our mind, we conceive the existence of a third dimension using two stereographic pictures. As you see, our mind is already ‘too busy’ converting 2D sensed data to reconstruct a 3D observation picture of reality. For humans to visualize a world in more dimensions than 3D is no trivial task. It may even be impossible, without physically modifying ourselves. If dimensionality is not a property of the universe, but of ourselves, then our attempts to ‘visualize’ 2D and 4D universes in terms of our 3D abilities is not only futile, it is nonsense. The reality perceived by a 2D being is the same reality as perceived by a 3D being and a 4D being. Their methods of description will vary greatly, but they are each attempting to describe the same thing.
This alternative perspective on spatial dimensionality has offered a rational answer to the question of why do we conceive the universe to be limited to three spatial dimensions. The answer is the universe is not limited to 3D, and most scientific evidence points to higher dimensional universe, but it is we who are limited, due to our senses. Another dimensionality issue that is answered is that of the co-existence of multiple dimensions beyond three. This issue becomes nonsense. An object cannot pass to another plane or dimension of existence, because these planes or dimensions do not exist. No dimensions exist except in our minds.
Dimensions are powerful tools which we use to organise, live and understand the universe. It seems reasonable to believe that a being who can conceive an “n”*D universe can develop more elegant knowledge that a being who can only conceive an “n-1″*D universe. In essence, the more dimensions we can conceive, the more about the universe we can understand. TIME is only a way to organise information about the n*D universe, for all those mysteries which we have not been able to fit entirely into our (n-1)D spatial dimensionality framework. Remember the initial hypothesis was that a being who perceives “x” dimensions, will conceive the universe in “x+1” dimensions. We are now expanding the hypothesis to say that a being who perceives “x” dimensions, will conceive the universe in “x+1” dimensions where the “+1” is “time.” Therefore, as beings may increase the total number of dimensions in which they perceive and conceive the universe, there will always be a temporal dimension to the universe for the beings. In the case of a limited dimensional universe of n*D dimensions, then the universe (reality) will be the being (the n*D observator) itself and that is the only possible non-temporal dimension.
If we could increase our perception to 3-D so we could then conceive a 4-D universe, many phenomena which we now describe as occurring at different times would then be described as occurring at different spatial locations. The progressive increase in spatial dimensionality moves explanations from the infinite reservoir of “time” to spatial locations. However, even though the number of spatial dimensions may increase without bound, the conception of “time” remains constant for all beings, from 0D to 3D to “n”D.
From these ideas one can deduct, that we are 3D spatial observation points observing a multidimensional universe around us. For us 3D observers, the “+1” dimension cannot be spatially observed, so our mind perceives different 3D pictures changing through ‘time’. Time being the “+1” dimension is so embedded in our minds, that subconscious brain functions may be “hardwired” to better enable its “conception”.
Current scientific knowledge is based on a 3D based reality which seems to get in trouble when small dimensions of length or time are involved. Science is now talking of energetic particles that randomly pop in and out of existence, which doesn’t make sense if we do not try to understand how higher dimensional universe may work. It is a fact that at the time of writing, the best candidate unified theory is fully compatible with this higher dimensional space theory, namely the supersymmetry.
Supersymmetry is an idea that has been around for decades. It states that every boson has an associated fermion and vice-versa. So a quark, which is a fermion, has a supersymmetric imaginary partner called a squark, which is a boson. Likewise a photon, which is a boson, is teamed up with the photino, a fermion. None of the proposed supersymmetric particles have ever been detected. Scientists say this is because current particle accelerators are just not powerful enough. Science knows that these imaginary components MUST exist, but will never be able to detect/isolate them with the current methods, for the simple reason that they are imaginary. Note that the term ‘imaginary’ is a mathematical term and does NOT mean ‘non-existent’. Any form of matter interpreted in our space-time dimension can be mathematically expressed as a complex (Complex = Re+Im) function of space and time. Lately, some evidence that supersymmetry is real may have emerged from a study of gold and platinum atoms. Teams from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and the University of Kentucky in the United States have used the Tandem accelerator in Munich to bombard gold atoms with sub-atomic particles. The results of the interactions between the targets and the projectiles, they say, can only be explained by supersymmetry. This is the way to go, since we can only observe these imaginary particles through the motion of the real part.
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