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Six-Dimensional Space-Time Theory

Posted by kdawson on from the let's-do-the-twistor dept.

eldavojohn writes "PhysOrg is covering an interesting year-old paper that proposes an alternative six-dimensional theory of space and time. George Sparling's proposition, based on Einstein's general relativity and Elie Cartan's triality, is a twistor space (which I've only read of in Roger Penrose's latest work). The gist is that space-time is modeled not by four dimensions but by six, and that the extra two dimensions are time-like. Sparling is hoping that tests from the Large Hadron Collider will help prove his theory. The paper is heavy but the PhysOrg article summarizes it nicely."

6 of 330 comments (clear)

  1. Number of the Beast by Mal-2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    This sounds amazingly like the premise of a Heinlein novel, The Number of the Beast, which supposes that there are three dimensions of time as well as three dimensions of space, and that travel is possible on the two axes we normally do not recognize. This allows visiting realities that can be subtly or vastly different from our own, weighted by probability.

    It's not a bad concept, but it does get rather silly when the selected locations include Barsoom, Oz, and the "Future History" realms of Lazarus Long. A bit like the plot in Frank Zappa's "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary", it attempts so much that none of it really comes off right. The main difference is that Zappa intended it that way (and backed it up with interesting, non-repeating music) and I don't think Heinlein did. He did intend it to be campy, but it's way beyond that.

    I am willing to bet he is neither the first nor the last to propose this, but at least I can point out "prior art" where I see it.

    Mal-2

    --
    How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
  2. Re:Consequences of three dimensional time? by John+Newman · · Score: 2, Informative

    Would this help explain the apparent causality problem of neuromuscular control (humans seem able to send the neural command to catch the ball before our senses could have delivered the signal that it should be caught)?
    What "causality problem" are you alluding to? I don't think there's any suggestion of FTL nerve impulses in the neuroscience community. If you just mean the old saw about being able to catch a dollar bill that you drop between your fingers, remember that it doesn't work if someone else does the dropping. Your higher brain anticipates your own actions, allowing your "reflexes" to appear much faster than they actually are.
  3. Re:Whew! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Or perhaps people would like a nicer scanned version of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions . It's fantastic, everybody should read it.

  4. Re: No humsn has a right to think wrong! by porl · · Score: 5, Informative

    speaking as someone who *has* perused that wonderful piece of internet real estate, i can say quite confidently that the *only* thing that his 'theories' predict is that his 'theories' are important for predicting things. apparently his theories can be used to figure out how to cure cancer and stop violence too, but in his self acknowledged infinite wisdom he hasn't deemed it appropriate to tell us how yet. still, its fun for a laugh for a while :)

    for those who are still interested in such things, another site: fixedearth.com is similar, although it seems this guy has at least *tried* to do some research.

  5. Universe would disappear... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2, Informative
    The answer is simple: the powers that be do NOT want the masses to understand the true nature of the universe because if we did understand it, limitation and impossibility wouldn't exist.

    Actually, if we were to ever understand the true nature of the universe it would immediately disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre. Some people say that this has already happened...
    (Thank you Douglas Adams.)

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  6. Re:This is not new.. string theory proposes 11 by joe+user+jr · · Score: 2, Informative
    String theory still only has one time dimension, whereas this theory proposes three time dimensions, and so is quite different, and not a subset of string theory.

    A 6-D precursor to string theory you might be mistaking this for was called Kaluza-Klein theory, if memory serves.

    One other proponent of three time dimensions, again if I remember correctly, was neo-Gurdjieffian J.G. Bennett, who christened the extra timelike dimensions "eternity" and "hyparxis" in his "The Dramatic Universe".

    --
    .sigs: Just Say No!