h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, there's one triangle similarity proof you can use at http://www.h2g2.com/A247943 .

My boyfriend has just ordered access to the computer all thursday, so I guess I'll do a lot of off-screen reading by then.

Heavy stuff, but also expanding reading! (Is it called that in English? Expanding reading?)

Meow!

Does Brief History of Time talk about strings and superstrings?
I've a CD-Rom version I got free with a PC magazine once and I haven't (yet) seen anything about string theory. Maybe it'll make more sense when I've been through all the chapters.
Anybody else out there from the UK and hear the BBC Radio 4 program on the subject last week? That's what has whetted my appetite to try an understand more. I just don't get this idea of collapsing dimensions. Can anyone help?
(My maths degree is many years behind me but I might still understand a technical sort of answer.)
MC

Can't say I saw it... I'm American.
All I really understand about colapsing dimensions is that they weren't stable, or weren't necessary, or something, and that they shrunk, but size is all relative out of space anyway.....Esentially, I'm as confused as you are, or more so.

I THINK it's a good sign to be confused... but I'm not sure.

Me neither. Especially when the nice man on the radio started suggesting the missing dimensions might have collapsed into minute kind of particles in our existing 4 dimensional space. How?! Why?!!
Hmmm. I'm still confused. Never mind.

Yeah, 'A Brief History of Time' has a fair amount about super strings... how d'you think I managed to sub-edit this article? *grin*

As I understand it, the missing dimensions may or may not have had any particular reason for collapsing, but if they hadn't, we wouldn't be here - life can't exist without three space dimensions and one time... or it finds it very difficult to, anyway.

The dimensions which have collapsed are so small that we can't tell they're there... if, for example, yet another dimension collapsed, we'd all be living in a completely flat - from our point of view - universe... not fun...

Basically, from some cosmic, multidimensional, point of view, we're all living inside a rather flat kind of space... we *could* be taking up a lot more dimensions.

Is any of this making sense ?

26199

Being confused and being able to ask questions about it is good, right?

Yup, though I'm not sure about the answers !


Tigger |/\/\/\/|

When do the answers make sense? If they do, you're not asking the right questions.

Who likes tofu?

always a good catch all ....


Never tried bean-curd, but it doesn't sound particularly interesting - what do you do with it ?


Tigger

Maybe.... I agree life as we know it would have serious trouble in Flatland, not least because eating would involve being cut in half by our own digestive systems!
.... but I still don't see why there shouldn't be more dimensions just because we don't have the appropriate sensory development to perceive them - or sufficiently sophisticated mathematics/physics to describe them. I've now got my sticky fingers on a book entitled "Superstrings" and I'm hoping comprehension will soon start to dawn.

Anything. Personally, I like a marinade of soysauce, onion powder, chives, and , strangely enought, half a cup of sugar. Then you lightly fry the half inch thick slabs of tofu in oil and wait 'til they cool a bit to eat them.

curious, sounds more like a receipe for wallpaper paste rather than a food stuff , but I'll try & collect the ingredients to try is out !


Tigger |/\/|

There might've been some other stuff too...if I can find the real recipe, would you like a copy?

Thanks - yes please


Tigger

Okay, I'll try to dig it up.