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Patrick Murphy
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I've tried to imagine and draw the effect of a large object would have on space time in 3d but it just doesn't seem right. Would I be right to assume that maybe spacetime has more than 3 dimensions?
"Rubber sheet" diagrams are often used to illustrate the distortion of space-time. They usually show a large three dimensional mass above a stretched 2D plane, with the vertical axis representing time, so the plane should be imagined to be moving 'upwards' at the speed of light. The closer the 2D plane is to the planet the further it lags in time, hence the stretching effect. What is less clear in these diagrams is that the choice of units we use depends on the local speed of light - where time is 'running slower' the local distances are also smaller by the same degree, so 1 light year close to a large mass would in co-ordinate terms be smaller than a light year far from a mass. Whether what you see could be described as an illusion therefore depends very much on your interpretation of what you are looking at.Patrick Murphy said:If I draw the effect of gravity that a planet has on the fabric of space I would come up with a much larger sphere of space/time around the planet that is distorted/warped. But if gravity pulls you to one point in 3d space then what I see in the drawing is an illusion?
Patrick Murphy said:Yes the 4th being time. But you can't draw that onto paper.
Yes you can. And you have in order to correctly understand how gravity works in GR.Patrick Murphy said:Yes the 4th being time. But you can't draw that onto paper.
Spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a four-dimensional continuum. It is important because it helps us understand the relationship between space and time and how objects move through the universe.
Currently, we visualize spacetime using a three-dimensional graph, with time represented as the fourth dimension. This is known as the "block universe" model, where all events in the past, present, and future exist simultaneously.
Three dimensions are not enough to visualize spacetime because it does not account for the curvature of space caused by massive objects. In order to accurately depict the behavior of objects in spacetime, we need to account for the fourth dimension of time and the curvature of space.
One way to visualize higher dimensions of spacetime is through the use of mathematical models, such as the Minkowski space-time diagram. This diagram represents the four dimensions of spacetime in a two-dimensional graph, allowing us to visually understand the relationship between space and time.
Visualizing higher dimensions of spacetime can help us better understand and explain complex phenomena, such as black holes and the expansion of the universe. It can also aid in the development of new theories and technologies, such as time travel and space exploration.