Imagining the Tenth Dimension

Imagining the Tenth Dimension is a web-site dedicated to the book of the same name by Rob Bryanton. With a resounding recommendation by none other than Greg Bear, this book explores a universe of ten dimensions, as put forth in string theory. The preamble contains the following disclaimer text:

“The “theory of reality” that I advance on this website and in the book “Imagining the Tenth Dimension” is not the one that is commonly accepted by today’s physicists. Anyone wanting to know more about the currently established thinking behind string theory and the tenth or eleventh dimension should refer to such excellent books as “Parallel Worlds” by Michio Kaku, “The Fabric of the Cosmos” by Brian Greene, or “Warped Passages” by Lisa Randall.”

Though not a primer on string theory, the flash animation is excellent and helps visualize just how much is encompassed at each ensuing dimensional level. The text-only version has a complete transcript of the Flash animation. I highly recommend the animated version, as it gives you a chance of understanding what he means when he tries to explain how to use an extra dimension to allow instantaneous travel from a point in the future of one timeline to the past of another:

“There are only two ways you could get to that world—one would be to travel back in time, somehow trigger the key events that caused you to come up with your invention, then travel forward in the fifth dimension to see one of the possible new worlds that might have resulted. But that would be taking the long way. The shortcut we could take would involve us folding the fifth dimension through the sixth dimension, which allows us to instantly jump from our current position to a different fifth dimensional line.”

Aw, hell, even the Flash animation doesn’t help so much. He sure would like you to buy the book, though.