Skip to main content

childrens novel - What relationship is there between tesseracts in A Wrinkle in Time and the mathematical object?


It's been a long time since I read A Wrinkle in Time, but I remember the heroes using a phenomenon or device called a tessaract to travel across space, kind of like a stargate. I later learned that the word "tesseract" is a real mathematical term and refers to a four-dimensional cube-like object, also sometimes called a hypercube.


I'm not seeing the connection between these two uses of the term. I know physicists were making hypotheses about extra dimensions before A Wrinkle in Time came out, and I can sort of see the connection between extra dimensions and quick travel through three-dimensional space, but I don't see how a four-dimensional cube enters into the equation.


Is there any connection between how "tesseract" is used in A Wrinkle in Time and how it's used in mathematics?



Answer



In L'Engle's book a tesseract is a five dimensional object. It isn't a physical object but an abstraction used to explain a shortcut through spacetime. Three linear dimensions, plus a time dimension, plus a fifth dimension into which to fold the other four to reduce trip times.



Meg sighed. "Just explain it to me."



"Okay," Charles said. "What is the first dimension?"


"Well --- a line: ---"


"Okay. And the second dimension?"


"Well, you'd square the line. A flat square would be in the second dimension"


"And the third?"


"Well, you'd square the second dimension. Then the square wouldn't be flat any more. It would have a bottom and sides, and a top."


"And the fourth?”


"Well, I guess if you want to put it into mathematical terms you"d square the square. But you can't take a pencil and draw it the way you can the first three. I know it's got something to do with Einstein and time. I guess maybe you could call the fourth dimension Time."


"That's right," Charles said. "Good girl. Okay, then, for the fifth dimension you"d square the fourth, wouldn't you?"


"I guess so."



"Well, the fifth dimension's a tesseract. You add that to the other four dimensions and you can travel through space without having to go the long way round. In other words, to put it into Euclid, or old-fashioned plane geometry, a straight line is not the shortest distance between two points."



Outside L'Engle's work a tesseract is the natural extension of a cube to four dimensions, not five.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more