Question space-time and relativity.

[etcetcetc00]

I'm looking for an explanation of what four dimentional space-time means in terms of understanding the nature of time. Admittedly, I cannot really conceive of what a four dimenional structure would look like. I've heard all the analogies of imagining a two dimensional space with time as the third dimension, so I'm not looking for anything like that.

Calling time a fourth dimension and weaving a "fabric" of space-time seems to give time some spatial qualities that I'm having trouble reconciling. If all points in a 1 dimensional line are present within a 2 dimensional plane, all ponts on a 2 dimensional plane are present within a 3 dimensional cube, all points in a 3 dimensional cube are present at a given moment in 4 dimensional time, is it that all moments are present along a hypothetical 5th dimension?

Forgive me for asking against dimensionary reduction in the explanation while using it to ask my question, but it's the best way I can think to ask it. Imagine the whole universe from the moment of the big bang to the ultimate end of the universe are put into an elevator. At the bottom floor is the big bang, and at the tip floor is the end of the univese. Imagine this building is astronomically tall. Each minute between the big bang and the end of the universe is represented by one floor on this building, and at each floor the contents of the elevator represent the universe at those moments. As the elevator (space) travels up the elevator shaft (time) it changes accordingly. Does relativity mean that all these floors exist? The elevator moves as it does, and I am in no way trying to suggest the possibility of time travel because it's not like a normal person can drive a normal elevator in a normal building. I just don't understand what the fabric of time means.

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I'm not talking about any 5th dimension already established in any theories like strimg theory or what have you. My idea of a 5th dimension is a dimension that is to the 4th dimension what the 2nd is to the 1st.

[ajb]

g

I'm not talking about any 5th dimension already established in any theories like strimg theory or what have you. My idea of a 5th dimension is a dimension that is to the 4th dimension what the 2nd is to the 1st.

 

Start by telling us what you understand by dimension.

[froarty]

look at the place where time anomallies occur. obvious is the event horizon where you can store incurable patients until science finds a cure and then there is my theory that a Casiir cavity is to us what we are to the event horizon. If I am correct that reactants in a catalytic reaction are actually putting in all the hours we think we are saving in our plane and that catalytic engine is built on Casimir geometry (just look up the geometry of cavity size in skeletal catalysts in wikipedia).

My point is you now have a relative perspective from the temporal axis -the conductive plates of Casimir cavities (catalysts) form venturi like streams in the narrow gap between them allowing the stream orientation from future to past through our plane to be "less perpindicular" than our plane which in turn is also less perpindicular to the stream than an event horizon where time flows nearly straight through (perpindicular bisect) our plane from future to past. time appears slower here from our perspective because in contrast to a narrow stream in a Casimir cavity the event horizon is a wide slow stream where it interacts far less with matter reducing the temporal yard stick we use in our plane. -thats my 3 cents worth

Fran