Sorry, but I won't shut up just because I'm being ignored! All I'll say
is this: who says there are only 4 dimensions? There are only 4 that we
can perceive with our senses - there may be many more! Incidentally,
does the order of the dimensions count - ie. if something's
2-dimensional, does that mean it doesn't experience time, or is time
perhaps the "zeroth" dimension, which affects everything?
By the way, that thing about there being perhaps 8,13 or 21 dimensions
relates to that series of numbers whos discoverer I forget - it was
mentioned in the Christmas Lectures, explained with a thing about
rabbits breeding which isn't relevant here: you have a series of numbers
where each one is the sum of the previous two - ie. you start with 1 and
1, the result being 2; then you take 1 and 2, and get 3; then 2 and 3,
to get 5... the series is something like this:
1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 etc...
It occurs in nature - flowers have one of these numbers as their petals.
It's something to do with their seeds spiraling out and making best use
of space - I can't quite remember, but I'm sure someone else can remind
me!
Hmm, I've just got Nick Waterman replying to my question - thanks Nick,
but surely the speed of light ISN'T constant at all? It slows down when
it enters mediums such as light and glass, for example (hence
scattering, refraction etc.). In fact, speaking in terms of dimensions,
even when light gets curved by a gravity field, its velocity in each
dimension changes, even if its overall speed remains constant! (Nearly
got my speed and velocity the wrong way round there - I only did Physics
at A-level, gimme a break!
Someone else has responded to Chilard's Poser. What about all my
earlier stuff, dammit?! S.Dismukes has a point about Doppler shifts,
though - that would make sense (ie. the photons would be squashed
together or stretched out, resulting in change of frequency - since
light can be either particles or waves, it is both at the same time!
That's what my teacher told me, anyway...)
I should be working as well (on an essay about insect evolution - trust
me, it's relevant to geology!), but this is much more interesting!
Anyway, I've got until February the 2nd... (by which time this matter
will have been resolved...)
D.Chilard
is this: who says there are only 4 dimensions? There are only 4 that we
can perceive with our senses - there may be many more! Incidentally,
does the order of the dimensions count - ie. if something's
2-dimensional, does that mean it doesn't experience time, or is time
perhaps the "zeroth" dimension, which affects everything?
By the way, that thing about there being perhaps 8,13 or 21 dimensions
relates to that series of numbers whos discoverer I forget - it was
mentioned in the Christmas Lectures, explained with a thing about
rabbits breeding which isn't relevant here: you have a series of numbers
where each one is the sum of the previous two - ie. you start with 1 and
1, the result being 2; then you take 1 and 2, and get 3; then 2 and 3,
to get 5... the series is something like this:
1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 etc...
It occurs in nature - flowers have one of these numbers as their petals.
It's something to do with their seeds spiraling out and making best use
of space - I can't quite remember, but I'm sure someone else can remind
me!
Hmm, I've just got Nick Waterman replying to my question - thanks Nick,
but surely the speed of light ISN'T constant at all? It slows down when
it enters mediums such as light and glass, for example (hence
scattering, refraction etc.). In fact, speaking in terms of dimensions,
even when light gets curved by a gravity field, its velocity in each
dimension changes, even if its overall speed remains constant! (Nearly
got my speed and velocity the wrong way round there - I only did Physics
at A-level, gimme a break!
Someone else has responded to Chilard's Poser. What about all my
earlier stuff, dammit?! S.Dismukes has a point about Doppler shifts,
though - that would make sense (ie. the photons would be squashed
together or stretched out, resulting in change of frequency - since
light can be either particles or waves, it is both at the same time!
That's what my teacher told me, anyway...)
I should be working as well (on an essay about insect evolution - trust
me, it's relevant to geology!), but this is much more interesting!
Anyway, I've got until February the 2nd... (by which time this matter
will have been resolved...)
D.Chilard