Math Encounters -- 'Space, Time, and the Fourth Dimension'

Albert Einstein discovered that time should be seen as a fourth dimension that can be added to the three dimensions of space. What exactly does this mean? Can one imagine higher dimensions? How does geometry work in four-dimensional spacetime? And how does this help us understand fundamental questions in physics like the Big Bang, black holes, and the behavior of elementary particles according to the rules of quantum mechanics?

Presented by Robbert Dijkgraaf, Director of Princeton University's Institute for Advanced Study.

Math Encounters is a public presentation series celebrating the spectacular world of mathematics, presented by the Simons Foundation and the National Museum of Mathematics.

[roadArt]

Thanks for the great lecture. The other day I went to the dentist, I had a tooth pulled out without anesthetic. The next day 24 hours later exactly and looking back it felt like weeks had gone by.. so my notion of time was totally distorted. So I think that pain and any intense feeling that expands the now and makes it explode, will distort your picture of the whole space-time continuum. Just thought I would share and if anyone has any insight on the matter it would be greatly appreciated

[gnjjqhw]

As a hard core sci-fi fan, the talk on 58:00 made me think of the story about the space ship try to get out from the black hole using a time warp into the past.

[ramitdour]

He is a master of PowerPoint and Physics 🙌

[careycarlson]

The 4-D time lattice gives a better explanation and leads to the reduction to time as the sole parameter. See "Causal Set Theory and the Origin of Mass-ratio."

[sajaldeb]

Professor Manjul Bhargava was also there.