What does 3D mean? It refers to the three dimensions, but what is a dimension? Dictionary.com says it is “a property of space; extension in a given direction.” So consider this straight line:
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That line travels in a single dimension. If our whole world was just 1 dimension, then we could travel left and right and that would be it. We couldn’t pass anyone. There would be no “up” to go over the top of the other person. Okay, what is the next dimension?
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Either that is the up-down dimension, or that is a bunch of I’s. You decide. The final dimension is what people really mean when they say something is 3D. The text you see now is 2D. If it could pop out at you, then it would be 3D. It’s the difference between Zelda on Nintendo and Zelda on N64. So why talk about this? Well, the next dimension is time. Objects can move along in time just like the other dimensions. Well, sort of. We can, at this point, only go in one direction with time. Have you ever heard that real estate is about location, location, location? Well, that is true, but it is true in “space-time” (which is another way of speaking about location in terms of the 4 dimensions rather than just the 3). If my family had bought some nice real estate on Bates Road in Haines City back in the year 2000, it would have taken just a few years for that investment to pay off. However, if we had bought it in 1950, it would have taken way too long to pay off. What is wrong here? The location is fine, as we know now. Well, the location would not have been fine in 1950 because location involves time, not just the other 3 dimensions. As time went by (moved), it became a good investment. “Space-time” is thinking of our world in terms of length, width, height, and time.
So if all the other dimensions can be traveled back and forth, why not time? Well, many “scientists say” (yes, I see the irony), that we theoretically can. It’s just a matter of speed. The faster an object travels, the slower time appears to go by for those observing. However, for the person going fast, time carries on as normal. You wouldn’t notice anything different, but if you could travel near the speed of light, then you would gain time (apparently to others). This begs the question, wouldn’t you still age the same? If that is true, then you may have “traveled back in time” to those around you, but it seems your “body age” would remain the same. So, you didn’t reverse time for yourself. To people on earth, you went forward in time (because now you have gray hair). To you, they went back in time (because they didn’t age like you). There is another way to time travel by using worms holes…but I don’t think we’re going there.
This whole concept of time being relative is apart of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. There are particles called (I think it is spelled this way) neuons. They don’t exist for very long. I forgot where they came from (again, I’m just a dude, not a scientist). They travel nearly at the speed of light. These neuons are so distant that they should dissipate before ever reaching the earth. So how do we know about them? We know about them because they do make it here. How is that possible? Well, they travel so fast that time, in a sense, slows down for them. Relatively, time slows for them to get here despite the fact that there shouldn’t be enough time. If time were constant, it wouldn’t work. If time were relative, then this would explain why it works. This is part of why time is not thought to be constant anymore. It is a dimension that can be traveled “left (past) or right (future).” Well, so the theory goes.
Okay, that had to be the worst explanation of the relativity of time in the history of mankind. However, when I’m in my 90’s and time travel becomes practical, I’ll just go back and rewrite it. You won’t even know that I wrote it so poorly.
While we’re on this subject, though, we should look at why there are massive problems with time travel. The major problem with traveling back in time is “causality.” This problem is often illustrated with the “Grandfather Paradox.” This states that time travel shouldn’t be possible because otherwise you could travel back in time and shoot your Grandfather before you were ever conceived. If you did this, did you do it? If you kill your Grandfather, then don’t you automatically disappear? If you disappear, then who shot your Grandfather? See the problem? Your Grandfather then, doesn’t die and then does have you. You then, in turn, do go try and kill him. The circle of impossibilities continues. This is part of why some scientists believe in “parallel universes.” These are basically every single possible world that coexists with ours but in another universe. It is what that old show “Sliders” was based on. I don’t want to go into parallel universes (nor do I believe in them). The problem of causality is so strong, that time travel is probably impossible even if the science appears to allow for it currently.
True phrase
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