Searching for extra dimensions
How many dimensions do you think exist?
Most people would say three.
Everyday experience confirms this as we can move forwards and backwards, left and right and up and down corresponding to three dimensions of movement.
However, time is considered to be a fourth dimension in our universe and mathematicians and scientists routinely work in four dimensions.
Scientists are searching for extra dimensions in our Universe
Currently, scientists are searching for evidence of extra dimensions that may exist beyond these four.
If such dimensions exist, they are incredibly small (less than 16 nanometers). They would be far too small to detect with the human eye.
Although no direct evidence of these tiny dimensions has yet been found, the existence of extra dimensions could help to explain mysterious phenomena such as dark matter and dark energy.
Dark matter and dark energy are thought to make up most of our universe, but we cannot see or - as yet - detect its presence in any way.
At universities around the world, scientists are getting closer to understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy. Hopefully we will soon be able to declare exactly how many dimensions really exist in our universe.
In this research, scientists build complex mathematical models which describe observed phenomena. It is an area of study at the cutting edge of modern science.