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Someone explain this 4th dimension to me 4D ?

Jack Denfeld

09:58 / 22.03.02

Morrison plays around with it a lot and I'd like someone to explain this 4th Dimension. In his stories, in real life.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

09:58 / 22.03.02

Okay, here's 4D 101 for ya:

First dimension: Imagine a line, but a line which has zero width. Its only dimension is length.

Second dimension: Imagine a flat surface, like a piece of paper, but with zero thickness. Its only dimensions are length and breadth.

Third dimension: A solid object, such as a cube which has width, length, and height.

Fourth dimension: The next one along- Time.

Jack Denfeld

09:58 / 22.03.02

The 4th dimesion is time? But I just read a comic where Morrison's UltraMarine takes energy from the 4th dimension to give her added power (and mass?) to one of her punches.

I know comic books aren't science books, but I thought Morrison would have researched a bit since he's always using it. Would this still be consistant with the 4th dimension being time?

Also, is the 4th dimension recognized by scientists, or is it more sci-fi?

Matthew Fluxington

09:58 / 22.03.02

Well, Morrison doesn't exactly mention the fourth dimension - in New X-Men, they are making constant references to "4Space".

I wonder what it is, myself. It sounds really cool.

—| x |—

09:58 / 22.03.02

Here’s a link to a novel that is about a 2d being that experiences the visitation of a 3d being:

Flatland

an indirect way to think about what it might be like for you, as a 3d being, to be visited by a being from 4d.

And here is a link to A Square’s 4D self: a rotating image of a hypercube projected into our space. You’ll need your blue/red 3d glasses!

I also highly recommend that you seek out Rudy Rucker’s The Fourth Dimension : A Guided Tour of the Higher Universes. It should be available through Amazon, so click through Barbelith’s link an order yourself up a copy: you get a great read coupled with an accessible tour through the dimensions c/o a pioneering cyberpunk author & mathematician, a continuation of A Square's adventures, and you also get to support this wonderful site!

Good luck with your 4d touring!

m3

[ 22-03-2002: Message edited by: modthree ]

Less searchable M0rd4nt

09:58 / 22.03.02

Fizzics Fizzle: Cool Topics: Hyperspace

Fourth Dimension (From the Fractal Wisdom site)

Signifying Nothing:
The Fourth Dimension in Modernist Art and Literature: An academic paper.

Profile: Grant Morrison from Popimage.com- very fanboyish in tone, but the interviews explore some of the concepts in Morrison's work.

[ 22-03-2002: Message edited by: Mordant C@rnival ]

Lurid Archive

09:58 / 22.03.02

4D is a bit like 3D only one more. No?

The Sinister Haiku Bureau

09:58 / 22.03.02

I'd also recommend Michio Kaku (sp?)'s book 'Hyperspace'. The fourth dimension can either be time or another spatial dimension, wrapped up so tightly that we can't percieve it. Some theories, like superstring theory say there are (IIRC) ten space dimensions and 2 of time.

Mystery Gypt

09:58 / 22.03.02

addong mass and strength by extracting out of the 4th dimension IS in fact consistent with the 4th dimension being time. the fast something moves, the less it moves through the time; light doesn't not itself move in time at all, it does not age, nor has it any mass. it is pure energy, travelling at speed "c" which is the limit to any 3-dimensional travel. matter is equal to a lot more energy (that's what e=mc^2 means), hence the incredible power of atomic bombs.

so in science fiction, it would be quite possible to reverse this flow, extracting extra matter (mass) out of the pure energy, which would be located in the time / 4th dimension.

though to be fair, this isn't necessarily what grant meant.

Rose

20:27 / 22.03.02

I believe there was already a thread on this topic, you can find it here.

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