4 ms·

What is impossible in 2D (e.g. escaping from inside a circle) is possible and trivial in 3D. Is moving faster than speed of light a limitation that can be over

by emrah 6y ago

What is impossible in 2D (e.g. escaping from inside a circle) is possible and trivial in 3D. Is moving faster than speed of light a limitation that can be overcome in a higher dimension? Does it really require a lot of energy or is that only so under certain circumstances? There is a lot we still don't know

howling 6y ago
The 3d equivalent of a circle is a sphere, which is also impossible to escape from in 3d.
- justinclift 6y ago
  Pretty sure the parent comment was more meaning "go up a higher level of dimension", so to escape a "3d" sphere they'd point out you could probably do it from a(ny?) higher-than-third dimension.
- emrah 6y ago
  justinclift is right. The goal is to try to escape from a circle which is still a circle in 3D space. A 2D being may not be aware of the third dimension and might think it's impossible to escape it. Yet it is possible if they find a way to travel in the third dimension. This is just an analogy anyway. My main point is, or what I hope science can figure out is whether the speed of light is a true limitation of reality or just a limitation of our own perception/understanding
postalrat 6y ago
If a 2d being escaped their 2d space would the universe disappear from their point of view?
- emrah 6y ago
  They might discover there are other previously invisible 2D worlds (i.e. planes) in existence right next to theirs ;)
- tekstar 6y ago
  In the 90s, there was a sci fi book in my elementary school library about this very subject. I swore it was by William Shatner (it wasn't), and I had the name slightly wrong, so I hadn't been able to find it again until tonight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Reversed_Himself https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Reversed_Himself This book covers all sorts of situations about objects in fewer and additional dimensions.
jayd16 6y ago
Perhaps but that doesn't bring one side of a circle closer to the other, or help you get out faster. Why would being able to move through higher dimensions help you travel faster through the 3 we're familiar with?
- alanbernstein 6y ago
  Viewing a 2D space from a higher dimension can make it obvious that the 2D space is not a flat plane, but is curved and warped. Some pairs of points in the 2D space may be closer together in 3D space than they appear while confined to the 2D space. There is a 3D/4D equivalent, but it can't be visualized, and it's unknown whether it has any possible physical meaning.
  - jayd16 6y ago
    >Some pairs of points in the 2D space may be closer together in 3D space than they appear while confined to the 2D space. This would be the coordinate system on a crumpled piece of paper analogy, yes? I can't help but feel this is highly unlikely. Do we have any reason to believe this would be the case? Wouldn't we experience this crumpled space or is momentum crumpled as well? Why would we expect new dimensions to be bent through our dimensions when the 3 we experience do not exhibit this behavior?

by emrah 6y ago

howling 6y ago

The 3d equivalent of a circle is a sphere, which is also impossible to escape from in 3d.

justinclift 6y ago
Pretty sure the parent comment was more meaning "go up a higher level of dimension", so to escape a "3d" sphere they'd point out you could probably do it from a(ny?) higher-than-third dimension.
emrah 6y ago
justinclift is right. The goal is to try to escape from a circle which is still a circle in 3D space. A 2D being may not be aware of the third dimension and might think it's impossible to escape it. Yet it is possible if they find a way to travel in the third dimension. This is just an analogy anyway. My main point is, or what I hope science can figure out is whether the speed of light is a true limitation of reality or just a limitation of our own perception/understanding

postalrat 6y ago

If a 2d being escaped their 2d space would the universe disappear from their point of view?

emrah 6y ago
They might discover there are other previously invisible 2D worlds (i.e. planes) in existence right next to theirs ;)
tekstar 6y ago
In the 90s, there was a sci fi book in my elementary school library about this very subject. I swore it was by William Shatner (it wasn't), and I had the name slightly wrong, so I hadn't been able to find it again until tonight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Reversed_Himself https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Who_Reversed_Himself This book covers all sorts of situations about objects in fewer and additional dimensions.

jayd16 6y ago

Perhaps but that doesn't bring one side of a circle closer to the other, or help you get out faster. Why would being able to move through higher dimensions help you travel faster through the 3 we're familiar with?

alanbernstein 6y ago
Viewing a 2D space from a higher dimension can make it obvious that the 2D space is not a flat plane, but is curved and warped. Some pairs of points in the 2D space may be closer together in 3D space than they appear while confined to the 2D space. There is a 3D/4D equivalent, but it can't be visualized, and it's unknown whether it has any possible physical meaning.
- jayd16 6y ago
  >Some pairs of points in the 2D space may be closer together in 3D space than they appear while confined to the 2D space. This would be the coordinate system on a crumpled piece of paper analogy, yes? I can't help but feel this is highly unlikely. Do we have any reason to believe this would be the case? Wouldn't we experience this crumpled space or is momentum crumpled as well? Why would we expect new dimensions to be bent through our dimensions when the 3 we experience do not exhibit this behavior?