You might have raised an eyebrow when we talked about the fourth dimension (Photograph #1). But we don’t expect any problems with lesser dimension. Or do we?
Think of observing a ball of twine from a distance. From a great distance the ball appears as a point – of dimension 0. Coming closer we see that it is obviously solid – of dimension 3. But when we come even closer, we notice that it is made up of linear twine – of dimension 1. Approaching closer again, we see that the twine is itself solid – of dimension 3? But now, perhaps with a magnifying glass, we find that the twine is made of smaller linear fibres – dimension 1 again?
Perhaps in a practical sense, our definition of dimension will depend on our distance from the object. Now that is a revolutionary thought!
http://paulscott.info/fractals/fu8.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory
