gravity visualization

[losfomot]

When gravity is explained as the warping of spacetime, it is usually done using a 2-dimensional representative model of spacetime. For some reason, this works beautifully (for example a rubber sheet with a bowling ball on it. Roll a marble past the bowling ball and it follows the curved path of the rubber in a manner uncannily similar to how we see massive objects interact) But reality isn't 2 dimensional, it is 3 or rather 4 - dimensional (including time). So how come gravity isn't explained using a 4 dimensional representative model of spacetime? I have tried to visualize it in my head and it is like a name that is on the tip of your tongue... its almost there but just out of reach. It almost seems as though there is a direction that space is curved that we cannot see. Just like the 2 dimensional rubber sheet (with length and width) is warped by the bowling ball to give it a 3rd dimension (depth), It seems (to me) like our 3 dimensional space is warped by mass to give it a 4th dimension (+time = 5) that we cannot see or even visualize, but only feel the effects of (gravity).

 

Anyway, I may be dead wrong and maybe someone has created a good 3-D(picture) or 4-D (quicktime movie) model of spacetime and I just haven't found it. If anyone knows of such a thing could you point me toward it, thanks.

[[Tycho?]]

Well it is explained using a 4 dimensional model. It isn't visualized in 4 dimensions simply because humans cannot visualize it in 4 dimensions. The curving 2d one (so not really 2d) gives us a good analogy, so we use that.

[losfomot]

'']Well it is explained using a 4 dimensional model. It isn't visualized in 4 dimensions simply because humans cannot visualize it in 4 dimensions. The curving 2d one (so not really 2d) gives us a good analogy, so we use that.

 

 

Right, we can't visualize spacetime in 4 dimensions. But why not? I'm looking around and seeing in 4 dimensions right now. Is there anything else in the universe, other than spacetime, that we can't see or visualize in 4 dimensions?