
A five-dimensional (5D) space is a mathematical or physical concept referring to a
space
Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
that has five independent
dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coo ...
s. In physics and geometry, such a space extends the familiar three spatial dimensions plus time (4D spacetime) by introducing an additional degree of freedom, which is often used to model advanced theories such as higher-dimensional gravity, extra spatial directions, or connections between different points in spacetime.
Concepts
Concepts related to five-dimensional spaces include
super-dimensional or
hyper-dimensional spaces, which generally refer to any space with more than four dimensions. These ideas appear in
theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...
,
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
, and
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
to explore phenomena beyond ordinary perception.
Important related topics include:
*
5-manifold — a generalization of a surface or volume to five dimensions.
*
5-cube — also called a penteract, a specific five-dimensional hypercube.
*
Hypersphere — the generalization of a sphere to higher dimensions, including five-dimensional space.
*
List of regular 5-polytopes — regular geometric shapes that exist in five-dimensional space.
*
Four-dimensional space — a foundational step to understanding five-dimensional extensions.
Five-dimensional Euclidean geometry
5D
Euclidean geometry
Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to ancient Greek mathematics, Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry, ''Euclid's Elements, Elements''. Euclid's approach consists in assuming a small set ...
designated by the mathematical sign:
5 is dimensions beyond two (
planar) and three (
solid
Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...
). Shapes studied in five dimensions include counterparts of
regular polyhedra and of the
sphere
A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
.
Polytopes
In five or more dimensions, only three
regular polytope
In mathematics, a regular polytope is a polytope whose symmetry group acts transitive group action, transitively on its flag (geometry), flags, thus giving it the highest degree of symmetry. In particular, all its elements or -faces (for all , w ...
s exist. In five dimensions, they are:
* The
5-simplex of the
simplex family, , with 6 vertices, 15 edges, 20 faces (each an
equilateral triangle), 15 cells (each a regular
tetrahedron
In geometry, a tetrahedron (: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular Face (geometry), faces, six straight Edge (geometry), edges, and four vertex (geometry), vertices. The tet ...
), and 6 hypercells (each a
5-cell).
* The
5-cube of the
hypercube
In geometry, a hypercube is an ''n''-dimensional analogue of a square ( ) and a cube ( ); the special case for is known as a ''tesseract''. It is a closed, compact, convex figure whose 1- skeleton consists of groups of opposite parallel l ...
family, , with 32 vertices, 80 edges, 80 faces (each a
square
In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...
), 40 cells (each a
cube
A cube or regular hexahedron is a three-dimensional space, three-dimensional solid object in geometry, which is bounded by six congruent square (geometry), square faces, a type of polyhedron. It has twelve congruent edges and eight vertices. It i ...
), and 10 hypercells (each a
tesseract
In geometry, a tesseract or 4-cube is a four-dimensional hypercube, analogous to a two-dimensional square and a three-dimensional cube. Just as the perimeter of the square consists of four edges and the surface of the cube consists of six ...
).
* The
5-orthoplex of the
cross polytope family, , with 10 vertices, 40 edges, 80 faces (each a
triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
), 80 cells (each a
tetrahedron
In geometry, a tetrahedron (: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular Face (geometry), faces, six straight Edge (geometry), edges, and four vertex (geometry), vertices. The tet ...
), and 32 hypercells (each a
5-cell).
An important uniform 5-polytope is the
5-demicube, h has half the vertices of the 5-cube (16), bounded by alternating
5-cell and
16-cell hypercells. The
expanded or
stericated 5-simplex is the vertex figure of the
A5 lattice, . It and has a doubled symmetry from its symmetric Coxeter diagram. The kissing number of the lattice, 30, is represented in its vertices. The
rectified 5-orthoplex is the vertex figure of the
D5 lattice, . Its 40 vertices represent the
kissing number of the lattice and the highest for dimension 5.
Other five-dimensional geometries
The theory of
special relativity
In physics, the special theory of relativity, or special relativity for short, is a scientific theory of the relationship between Spacetime, space and time. In Albert Einstein's 1905 paper, Annus Mirabilis papers#Special relativity,
"On the Ele ...
makes use of
Minkowski spacetime, a type of geometry that locates events in both space and time. The time dimension is mathematically distinguished from the spatial dimensions by a modification in the formula for computing the "distance" between events. Ordinary Minkowski spacetime has four dimensions in all, three of space and one of time. However, higher-dimensional generalizations of the concept have been employed in various proposals.
Kaluza–Klein theory, a speculative attempt to develop a unified theory of
gravity
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
and
electromagnetism
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...
, relied upon a spacetime with four dimensions of space and one of time.
Geometries can also be constructed in which the coordinates are something other than real numbers. For example, one can define a space in which the points are labeled by
tuple
In mathematics, a tuple is a finite sequence or ''ordered list'' of numbers or, more generally, mathematical objects, which are called the ''elements'' of the tuple. An -tuple is a tuple of elements, where is a non-negative integer. There is o ...
s of 5
complex number
In mathematics, a complex number is an element of a number system that extends the real numbers with a specific element denoted , called the imaginary unit and satisfying the equation i^= -1; every complex number can be expressed in the for ...
s. This is often denoted
. In
quantum information theory, quantum systems described by
quantum state
In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that embodies the knowledge of a quantum system. Quantum mechanics specifies the construction, evolution, and measurement of a quantum state. The result is a prediction for the system ...
s belonging to
are sometimes called ''ququints.''
See also
*
5-manifold
*
Gravity
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
*
Hypersphere
*
List of regular 5-polytopes
*
Four-dimensional space
References
Further reading
*
*
*
Weyl, Hermann,
Raum, Zeit, Materie', 1918. 5 edns. to 1922 ed. with notes by Jūrgen Ehlers, 1980. trans. 4th edn. Henry Brose, 1922
Space Time Matter', Methuen, rept. 1952 Dover. .
External links
{{Dimension topics
Dimension
Multi-dimensional geometry
5 (number)