Ok so I just read somebody else’s question on dimensions and that prompted me to ask this question. It is kind of hard to explain my thought process but I’ll do my best.
So we often think of 2 dimensional objects as being flat, but I feel like a truly flat object would be as un-perceivable as a 4d object to us. So if we imagine a cube made of paper we have a 3d object.
Now if we squish the cube down and flatten it we have a “2d” object, a square. But in reality that square isn’t flat because the thickness of the paper still exists. So how do we make the paper truly flat? We can cut it in half to make it thinner and flatten it out, but there is still depth. No matter how much we “flatten it” there will still be some depth. Even if it’s 0.00^ to the trillionth degree.
So my thought is for something to be truly flat it must be completely non-existent in our universe. So how can we know that it’s flat? Once we can perceive of a truly 2d object wouldn’t you also perceive an entirely new plane of existence that we can’t even fathom?
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The other answers are good, and yes – generally things have to be a certain size to be real.
But then we get to fundamental particles.
In theory fundamental particles – things like electrons, neutrinos, quarks – are dimensionless; they have no height, width or depth! They cannot for them to be fundamental (if they had length you could cut them in half lengthwise, and you’d get something smaller that makes up them – meaning they’re not fundamental any more).
So in theory everything is made up of things that are not just flat, but infinitely small points, with no length in any direction.
Except then we get into quantum mechanics, and uncertainties. We find that things don’t have absolute values, but average values and uncertainties. Including where something is. An electron is supposed to be in a particular spot, but when we look for it it might be there, or a bit to the left, or a bit to the right… there is an uncertainty to where it is. And so even though it has no dimension in theory, we can treat it as taking up space in practice because of the fuzziness of where it is.
Physics can get fun and weird.
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