Dimensional Applications

 

3-D imaging seems to cross dimensional boundaries in that it allows the human eye to perceive a three-dimensional image from a two-dimensional surface. For example, a picture on a sheet of paper normally possesses only the dimensions of height and width. A holographic image on a sheet of paper, however, seems to possess height, width, and depth, even though it is contained within a 2-D plane. 3-D imaging systems could then be said to transcend dimensional boundaries, allowing images to be projected one dimension higher than the dimensionality of the surface itself.

 

The obvious question, then, is whether or not it is possible for us, as 3-D creatures, to create a 4-D equivalent of a hologram. We would then be projecting 4-D images from 3-space, just as the holograms with which we are now familiar project 3-D images from 2-space.

 

As exciting as the proposal sounds, it is, unfortunately, impossible. In order to create a hologram, a real three-dimensional object must first be recorded on film. Then, after the image has been recorded, we must use our stereoscopic vision to view the image in three dimensions. Thus, in order to create the equivalent of a hologram in the fourth dimension, we would first have to create a camera to capture a four-dimensional object, and we would then have to create a pair of eyes that could perceive the projected image in four dimensions.

 

backward

up

forward

BACK
MAIN
NEXT