Two, three and four. This is the game of dimensions

2004/05/09 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Fisika
• Matematika

In films, this curious world is reflected on many occasions. For example, is it possible to teleport from one place to another? And jump between the dimensions? It doesn't seem to be easy to understand concepts. However, with a simple story things change a little. I wanted the cartoon to refer to the fourth dimension, but I tell you how they told me. With all four the cocoa mixture is great, but if we discard a dimension it is easier. Look.

Imagine a smooth, two-dimensional world. It can be a world drawn on paper, for example. It is the easiest thing to start imagining. How will we call this world? I come up with few names, but by choosing one, we will call it Leuntoki.

Of course, we look at Leuntoki from our three-dimensional world. From above, for example, we can see a village with a beautiful look. But citizens do not understand 'above'. They are neither superior nor inferior. And they don't need it. Without that, they adapt perfectly. They move forward and backwards, to the right and to the left. But they have no concept of height.

In Leuntoki there is no chasm or sky. Legs can't jump or fly, of course, they can't fall… where will they fall if they don't have the bottom? And not only that, you cannot tread your foot, for there is neither above nor below. They are not of those who sit, sit or lie down. The truth is that the only option for them is to stand, whenever it makes sense. I would like to know how they sleep in this village.

The environment is also special, there are no slopes or mountains, so they can not climb or ski. Neither puenting nor children's slide. From our point of view, Leuntoki is very boring, but if we put ourselves in place we may have to recognize that three-dimensional we are very complicated; today euphoria, tomorrow depression. You will have noticed that the leuntokitarras never go headlong.

On the other hand, your science is going to be a very special activity, right? Two-dimensional Newton could not study gravity by seeing an apple fall, something that does not happen there. There are no stars or planets, they would have very difficult to think that there is nothing out of their world. But that is what happens to us with the fourth dimension, in short, we are trapped in our three dimensions.

Look! In the town square there are lots of softeners and at the end of their working day they leave home. It is Martintxo. He is an ordinary citizen and can be an example for us. After all, it seems as interesting or boring as any other. He works in the patent office, but that's not something he likes, you have to get money and that's why he works every day without more.

But Martintxo is curious. He wants to know how things are and why they are as they are. His friends tell him many times that he is touched, but of course they tell him that he has to do well. Curious, but very nice. That is why we have opened a new world to him: we have taught him the fascination for the third dimension.

It has gone into an empty street, that is the moment we expected: in that world of 'on paper' we will introduce from top to bottom a three-dimensional object before Martintxo, an apple.

Gradually we lowered apple. Martintxo sees a sudden outbreak in which an apple steak faces 'The bone is cooked' and it expands until it stays. For him it is a paranormal event, but Martintxo has never believed in those events and has made a great effort to find the explanation of his appearance.

We left the “crusade” apple in Leuntoki and Martintxo screams. And at that moment, blowing the sick, we have taken out of your world a third dimension. While falling in the air like a leaf, Martintxo has seen Leuntoki from above with apple. It is open. During the flight you are fascinated by the third dimension.

It has fallen in the middle of the square, where the mayor was. The mayor does not believe what happened: They face Martintxo 'hezurmamitu'. It is impossible, but he has seen it. "Where does it come from?" dare to ask. Martintxo, nervous, has tried to answer. But how can one explain the high? You cannot mark with your finger up. Both are very nervous. It is less bad that it has not fallen on the mayor.

But that's not the end of our experiment. We have been a little bit more bad. Both have been teleported. For this we have bent Leuntoki to make a square and the house of Aurelio. These two places were far away, but now, suddenly, with a small step, they have jumped from one to the other. There have remained Martintxo, the mayor and Aurelio, looking, without knowing very well what has happened.

And we have seen everything from above, not knowing whether our world can be manipulated from a fourth dimension at once.

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