Last week, someone mentioned how there was an oddly large number of posts about time. This week, I’ve decided to add to that number, because I think it’s a fascinating topic.
Recently, there’s been a big influx in so-called “4D” movies. The first two dimensions are the length and height of the screen. The third is the depth that is created when things appear to pop out of the screen, like with a normal 3D movie. The people who make these movies have defined the fourth dimension as any physical sensation that isn’t happening on the screen, such as spraying water on the audience, or vibrating their chairs, or filling the theatre with an artificial odor.So is that what the fourth dimension is? Just a big catch all for any sensation that isn’t length, height, or depth? Well, no it’s not. You can move through the first three dimensions. You can walk forwards and backwards and left and right and jump up and down. These are directions that make up the space we exist in, not sensations like the feeling of water on your face or the smell of cinnamon. You move through the dimension of height by jumping up and down. You can’t jump through a sensation.
Obviously, the 4D branding is just a branding. So what is the actual fourth dimension then? According to scientists, it’s time. We can’t see time in the way we see length or height or depth, but we still experience it, and we can still measure it. The difference between time and the other three dimensions is movement through it. We can move in any direction through the first three dimensions without much difficulty just by walking around. But we can only move through time in one direction. You can’t stop moving through time. You can’t move backwards through time. You’re stuck moving forwards.
Most scientists now believe that time travel to the past is impossible. But there’s still so much we don’t know about the universe. I like to think that the only thing that separates time from the other three dimensions is how little we understand about it. I can move through depth by walking in a straight line. Who’s to say that moving through time is any different?
I think that time is a very difficult concept. Like you said, we still don't have a complete understanding of time, so the possibilities of it are still to be determined. If time is similar to other dimensions, we should be able to navigate through it, but those means of doing so are most likely unknown. Maybe even if we find out how to navigate through it, it could be technologically impossible. There are so many things to still be discovered, so I think that it is too early to tell whether travelling through time is possible or not.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very thoughtful post. I have always wondered what theaters meant by 4D, I just never cared enough to check. Your post really opened my mind to what 4D really means. Your'e definitely right that we still have so much to learn. Nothing is really impossible, we just don't know how to achieve it yet. Time travel is a really cool concept and it would be amazing if the human race were able to conquer the idea of it and make it a reality one day.
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