The Fourth Dimension Simply Explained

by Henry Parker Manning

To remove the contents of an egg without puncturing its shell or to drink the liquor in a bottle without removing the cork is clearly unthinkable — or is it? Understanding the world of Einstein and curved space requires a logical conception of the fourth dimension.
This readable, informative volume provides an excellent introduction to that world, with 22 essays that employ a minimum of mathematics. Originally written for a contest sponsored by Scientific American, these essays are so well reasoned and lucidly written that they were judged to merit publication in book form. Their easily understood explanations cover such topics as how the fourth dimension may be studied, the relationship of non-Euclidean geometry to the fourth dimension, analogues to three-dimensional space, some four-dimensional absurdities and curiosities, possible measurements and forms in the fourth dimension, and extensive considerations of four-dimensional space's simpler properties.
Since each essay is independently conceived, all of the writers offer fresh viewpoints and original examples. Because of this, some of the most important principles relating to the fourth dimension are viewed from several different angles at once — an invaluable aid to visualizing these abstruse but fascinating ideas. New Introduction by Thomas F. Banchoff, Brown University. 82 figures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Henry Parker Manning was an American professor of mathematics. In 1889, he entered Johns Hopkins University to study mathematics, astronomy and physics. When he received his Ph. D. degree in 1891, his first printed paper had already appeared in the American Journal of Mathematics. When he was nearly seventy, Manning learned early Egyptian hieroglypics, and collaborated with Arnold Buffum Chace in his publication of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus. He retired in 1930 and spent several years as associate editor of the American Mathematical Monthly. Amongst his other works are Non-Euclidean Geometry (1901), Irrational Numbers and Their Representation by Sequences and Series (1906), The Fourth Dimension Simply Explained (1910) and Geometry of Four Dimensions (1914)

Reviews

[Andrew Railton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very hard going this one. Not for the layman

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie and say a lot of this didn't go right above my head. Indeed, that was exacerbated further by the fact I listened to this on audio. But all the same, I enjoyed this book more than I expected I would, as it was more accessible than I had dared hope. I actually liked the somewhat repetitive structure - how it was just a collection of essays on the same subject (albeit from different angles) written by multiple persons - because it helped me to grasp more of the basic concepts rather than get left behind so that the writer may as well be in a different universe or, you know, dimension or something.

In short, the abstract fourth dimension makes a fascinating subject. Like quantum theory, it greatly interests me in that it seems the most mysterious and as yet untrammeled aspect of rational inquiry wherein the limits of our perception are truly revealed.

[Mirek Kukla · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of essays about the fourth dimension, submitted by readers for a contest in the Scientific American. As a book, terribly redundant. Most essays are otherwise readable, but you're far better off checking out 'Flatland'