Mirrors And The Fourth Dimension

less than 1m read

·Nov 10, 2024

Mirrors do not show us a fourth dimension, but they do show us what a fourth dimension could do to us. First, notice that some things are the same as their mirror image, but some things are not. These two shapes are similar, but they cannot be rotated to look identical, to be superimposable on each other. This is called being chiral.

A chiral shape and its mirror image are called anatomorphs. These two shapes are anatomorphs in two dimensions. No amount of two-dimensional rotations will ever make them superimposable. To do that, I'll need to smash one of them inside out, turn it into its own mirror image, or rotate it in a third, higher dimension.

If I place a sticker here and face that side away from me, notice that the mirror inverts the object, just like a rotation through a higher dimension. The side of the real object that's furthest from me becomes the side of the virtual object that's closest to me. So, what would I look like if I was rotated around a plane in a fourth spatial dimension and then brought back? I would look like that.

Be Too Busy to “Do Coffee”

Startup Investor School Preview with Geoff Ralston

View All

The Best Way To Launch Your Startup | Startup School

Foreign [Music] Head of Outreach at Y Combinator. So I’ve been at YC for about nine years now, and that means I’ve seen over 3,500 companies go through the program and launch at YC. One of the things my team does is help companies with their first launche…

The Value of Rooftop Farming for the Community | Farm Dreams

Things are living, and things are growing on the roof, so they’re always living and growing. The flowers look amazing! Oh man, and you know the flowers are bringing the pollinators. Yes, we got the butterflies coming; we got the birds coming. So it’s goin…

We are in the "First Inning" of the Real Estate Crash - Billionaire Real Estate Investor

So, we’ve seen discounts already of, let’s say, 10-15%. Are we going to see discounts of 50%? Are we going to see buildings just turned over to the banks? I mean, what does it look like in terms of the bottom for this market? Billionaire real estate inves…

Lesson Planning with Khanmigo

This is Conmigo, an AI-powered guide designed to help all students learn. Kanmigo is not just for students; teachers can use Conmigo too by toggling from student mode to teacher mode. Once in teacher mode, Conmigo transforms into the teaching assistant yo…

3 Arguments Why Marijuana Should Stay Illegal Reviewed

All around the world, marijuana is being decriminalized, or even made legal. But is this really a good idea? In the online debate, the harmful sides are often downplayed. So let’s look at the three most powerful arguments against legalizing marijuana. Ar…

These Twins Show That Race Is A Social Construct | National Geographic

My name is Marcia and I’m 11 years old. My name is Mary and I’m 11 years old. When they see us together, some don’t believe that we’re twins. They don’t believe us; they’re like, “Oh really? I never noticed that. I thought you were just friends,” because …

Mirrors And The Fourth Dimension

More Articles