nomisrosen said:What exactly does the term "n-dimensions" mean? I've also seen "n-space". Please, no math, just a simple explanation!
Thanks!
This is like asking for an explanation of the term "quixotic" that doesn't use words, so you may want to rethink the "no math" request.nomisrosen said:What exactly does the term "n-dimensions" mean? I've also seen "n-space". Please, no math, just a simple explanation!
xristy said:If someone asks where you were at 3 hours GMT yesterday you can tell them latitude, longitude and how far above the surface of the earth. So there are 4 numbers used to specify your location in spacetime. Consider that we also what to know what the temperature and humidity are at that location (generally at any location) then that's another 2 numbers for a total of 6 numbers. Each of these numbers is independent of the other and each number is needed to characterize what we're interested in. This is a crude example of a 6-space.
You can imagine other kinds of information that you might want to relate to one another such as the volume of each of 12 different petroleum products that result from distillation based on the concentrations of 5 different catalysts and over a range of temperatures and pressures. This might be thought of as a 19-space modeling a petroleum refinery - crudely.
phinds said:Well, yes, but I interpreted the question as asking about physical space dimensions extending beyond 3 we know and live in.
nomisrosen, what were you really asking?
nomisrosen said:I was wondering what is meant by n-space or n-dimensions in physics. I guess it means anything more than our familiar 3, but why the term n? Wouldn't "x-dimensions" be more appropriate?
My main question was whether the term "n-dimensions" has a specific meaning (specified number of dimensions in a specific type of space) or if it is just a variable.
nomisrosen said:I was wondering what is meant by n-space or n-dimensions in physics. I guess it means anything more than our familiar 3, but why the term n? Wouldn't "x-dimensions" be more appropriate?
My main question was whether the term "n-dimensions" has a specific meaning (specified number of dimensions in a specific type of space) or if it is just a variable.
N-Dimensional refers to the number of independent variables or axes in a mathematical space. It is used to describe the number of dimensions in a given system or problem.
N-Dimensional is a general term that encompasses all systems with more than three dimensions. 2D and 3D specifically refer to two-dimensional and three-dimensional systems respectively, while N-Dimensional can refer to any number of dimensions greater than three.
N-Dimensional systems are often used in mathematics and science to describe complex systems that cannot be represented in lower dimensions. They are also used in fields such as physics and computer science to model and solve problems that involve multiple variables.
N-Dimensional systems are difficult to visualize in their entirety, as the human brain can only process up to three spatial dimensions. However, mathematicians and scientists have developed methods such as projections and simulations to represent and understand these systems.
A common example of an N-Dimensional system is a vector space with N dimensions, where each dimension represents a different physical quantity. Another example is a neural network with N layers, where each layer represents a different level of abstraction in the system.