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I'll begin by saying that while I find it all extremely fascinating, I am a complete outsider to the world of physics and mathematics, so please forgive my ignorance if what I'm asking makes no sense at all.
I have two questions about the nature of “space.”
According to what I believe was Einsteins general theory of relativity (correct me if I'm referencing the wrong theory), gravity is caused when a massive object causes space itself to “warp.” I was always taught that space is nothing but a void, rendering it intangible. If that is the case how can it interact with anything by warping? Which brings me to a potentially ignorant but nevertheless pressing question that has been pestering me: Could space itself be the elusive dark matter that astronomers and physicists have been searching for all these years? I can only imagine that this would give it a definition other than an intangible void and would give it the ability to interact with other objects.
My second question is more or less in the same thread as my first, and probably has an equal potential for ridicule. If space can “bend,” then doesn't that imply a fourth spatial dimension? I imagine a sheet of paper held out flat. As a two-dimensional surface in a three-dimensional space, I am able to bend the sheet of paper, or “warp” it. But that wouldn't be possible without the third dimension, would it?
Edit: on a side note, this thought just cropped up: If space is warped around an object with mass does that mean it is repelled by gravity?
Thanks for any insight!
I have two questions about the nature of “space.”
According to what I believe was Einsteins general theory of relativity (correct me if I'm referencing the wrong theory), gravity is caused when a massive object causes space itself to “warp.” I was always taught that space is nothing but a void, rendering it intangible. If that is the case how can it interact with anything by warping? Which brings me to a potentially ignorant but nevertheless pressing question that has been pestering me: Could space itself be the elusive dark matter that astronomers and physicists have been searching for all these years? I can only imagine that this would give it a definition other than an intangible void and would give it the ability to interact with other objects.
My second question is more or less in the same thread as my first, and probably has an equal potential for ridicule. If space can “bend,” then doesn't that imply a fourth spatial dimension? I imagine a sheet of paper held out flat. As a two-dimensional surface in a three-dimensional space, I am able to bend the sheet of paper, or “warp” it. But that wouldn't be possible without the third dimension, would it?
Edit: on a side note, this thought just cropped up: If space is warped around an object with mass does that mean it is repelled by gravity?
Thanks for any insight!
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