Spacial Physics
Posted: 02 Nov 2017 16:31
Anyway it spurred me to add my own ten cents to the thread as usual captain N.
In the study of classical mechanics, space and time fall into different categories which refer to absolute space and time. However, while that conception of the world is a four-dimensional space it is not necessarily the exact same 4DS that was found essential to be able to describe electromagnetism. The four dimensions of spacetime consist of events that are not able to be absolutely defined spatially and temporally, but rather are quantifiable relative to the motion of an observer. Minkowski space for example first off approximates the universe with gravity completely excluded; whereas the pseudo-Riemannian manifolds inherent to general relativity describe spacetime inclusive of matter and gravity. Already somewhat confusing for us mere mortals wouldn’t you say, then we start to encounter complexity! A total of ten dimensions are used to describe string theory, while the same portrayal supergravity and M-theory requires eleven dimensions, and as for the state-space of quantum mechanics, don’t ask Two Dogs! - It is an infinite-dimensional function space.
Just when you thought you’d found some stability, we find that the concept of dimension too is not restricted to physical objects. The application of high-dimensional spaces is a frequent occurrence in mathematics and the sciences. These might be parameter spaces or configuration spaces such as those in Lagrangian or Hamiltonian mechanics; however they are abstract spaces, thus independent of the physical space in which we reside.
A taster for you mystery solvers out there in your thought wigwams, don your wampum toss some peyote buttons into the flames and let the dimensions dance around the fire.
