question

If you don't know where to post something, put it here and an administrator or moderator will move it to the right place.

question

Postby papernuke » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:09 pm

i read here http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/qg_ss.html (in the extra dimensions place near the middle) that we live in 3 dimensions, and then it said that the other dimension that we lived in was the dimension of time. is that the fourth dimension? the time one?
"Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe."
-H.G. Wells
papernuke
Tetronian
 
Posts: 612
Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 6:33 pm
Location: California, US of A

Postby Nick » Tue Jul 11, 2006 8:54 pm

Time is not considered a dimension because unlike a spacial dimension (such as width, height, and length), you cannot move back and forward along the temporal axis.
I am the Nick formerly known as irockyou.
postcount++;
"All evidence of truth comes only from the senses" - Friedrich Nietzsche

Image
Nick
Tetronian
 
Posts: 841
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:47 pm
Location: New Jersey, USA

Postby houserichichi » Wed Jul 12, 2006 2:56 am

Spacetime is a four dimensional manifold with 3 dimensions of space (that we all know and love) and one dimension of time (that is either always going too fast or never going fast enough depending on situation). Some differentiate a 4-dimensional manifold from our 3 spatial and one temporal dimensional manifold by referring to spacetime as a 3+1-dimensional manifold rather than a 4-dimensional one.

In spacetime you need 4 numbers to specify a point: x, y, z, and t. Four numbers means 4 dimensional. All assuming you can set up a coordinate system to begin with, of course. Thankfully, spacetime is locally flat.
houserichichi
Tetronian
 
Posts: 590
Joined: Wed May 12, 2004 1:03 am
Location: Canada


Return to Where Should I Post This?

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests