the 10 dimensions?
In: Physics
The idea of an extra-dimensional universe (whether we’re talking about nine, ten or twelve dimensions) isn’t new. It dates back to the 1960s.
That said, the question often arises, if an extra-dimensional universe looks exactly as we perceive it, then how do we reconcile anything other than the three obvious spatial dimensions?
The answer is two fold: Either the extra dimensions are too large to perceive, or they are too small to perceive.
What if every wave of your hand dragged every atom in your arm through not three, but ten spatial dimensions? It would mean that our three dimensional universe is not absolute but merely statistical. If we can imagine a tight lattice where an atom and its constituents are being wound around a many-dimensional space as they pulled in a statistically in a three-dimensional direction then we can begin to intuitively appreciate the intricacy of such a system.
But how do we test for those dimensions? The short answer is we can’t. Almost by virtue of definition, these extra dimensions have to be outside of the realm of perception. Otherwise they would interfere with Newtonian and relativistic physics in a predictable fashion. This is simultaneously the genius behind and problem behind string/brain theory.
For all the math behind it, string/brain theory is nearly as much philosophy as it is physics. Until there is a good way to test it we’re just stuck guessing.
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