Back to Basics: How Did Space Get Its Dimensions?
In the beginning, there was little need for physicists. The universe, poised at the moment of creation, was ruled not by the four different forces observed in later times, but by just a single superforce. Instead of a smattering of different particles, there was only the tiny primordial mass — the grandmother of all particles — ready to explode in the Big Bang. Then came the detonation, giving scientists some messiness to study. As the newborn universe cooled, the single force splintered into four forces, radiating through the four dimensions of space and time, and the various classes of particles sprang forth one by one. This scientific creation story, embraced by physicists and cosmologists alike, seems to account for just about everything — with one glaring exception: Where did the dimensions come from? Now some physicists are adding a new touch to the Edenic tale. A paper published last month in Physical Review Letters suggests that the dimensions, like the forces and particles,
