yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

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.

More Articles

View All
Analog vs. digital signals | Waves | Middle school physics | Khan Academy
In this video, we’re going to think about analog versus digital signals. One way to think about the difference is an analog signal is trying to reproduce exactly, in some type of a signal, what is going on, while a digital signal is converting it usually …
The future of creativity in biology | High school biology | Khan Academy
[Music] [Music] Hi everyone! Salcon here. I think we’re about to enter what will be considered the golden age of biology, where not only do we understand or are starting to understand the genetic basis of things, but we also have the power to control it. …
The Dark Side of Romance: Is Love Worth It?
Is love all you need? Current societal narratives tell us that romantic love is an ‘ultimate concern;’ it’s the highest goal a human being can attain. We’re all after it; many, if not most, books, poetry, music, and films revolve around it. Ultimately, be…
2022 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting | 10 Minute Summary
Each year, 40,000 Warren Buffett fans and Berkshire Hathaway shareholders gather in scenic Omaha, Nebraska, to listen to investing legends Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger share their thoughts on everything from the stock market and investing all the way…
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…
How to Make a Hero
[Music] Stanford University 1973, professor Philip Zimbardo conducts one of the most infamous experiments in the history of psychology, known as the Stanford Prison Experiment. This dark study of human behavior had student volunteers acting out the roles …