clifford_a-_pickover_surfing_through_hyperspacebookfi-org

notes 229
Ben Brown suggests that 4-D beings would be solar powered. In three dimensions
one photon contains 10 7 ergs; this energy would be significantly higher in four dimensions,
due to a possible added oscillation. This means that one photon could be a more
significant source of energy. In our 3-D world, it seems impractical for a mobile,
warm-blooded creature to use solar energy; however, in four dimensions, it may be
practical for beings to absorb light and turn it directly into a storable form of energy.
Any such stored energy might reside as tissues deep inside the creature, shielding vital
organs such as the brain.
Appendix H
1. Obviously it is quite difficult to predict how particles will behave in different
dimensions. This means that it is difficult to predict what senses would evolve in 4-D
beings. In three dimensions, light oscillates in a 2-D fashion while moving forward
through the third dimension (the electrical and magnetic fields oscillate at right angles
to one another). In four dimensions, would light somehow oscillate in three dimensions
while moving forward through a fourth? Of course this is quite speculative, but it
may mean that "3-D light" would not be visible to a 4-D being, and that 2-D light
may not be visible to us.
If "light" could exist in two dimensions, "light" might oscillate through one dimension
and move forward through a second. Does this mean that Flatland might not be
visible to us as we stood above Flatland and looked down? Perhaps this implies that 4-D
creatures would have difficulty seeing us. What would we see if our eyes were level with
Flatland? (Would we be able to see a Flatlander if we illuminated him with a 3-D light
source?) If we were able to see Flatlanders, movement and energy stored on the 2-D surface
might somehow be translated into the energy levels of 3-D particles.
Arlin Anderson believes that sound (vibrational energy) seems to dissipate all its
energy within our 3-D world. This implies that a 4-D being can't hear (or see) us with
our sound or light until the being puts his ear or eye on our level. However, if 4-D
photons and phonons are possible, the being could use these to observe us.