Is gravity the '5th' dimension?

Question

I was thinking about this, you can basically define a dimension by the ability to move away from the one preceeding it. Think of a point (0D), then think of a line (1D) where you are able to move away from a single point. Now, a plane (2D) where you can move away from a single line. A 3D space, where you can move away from a plane. If time is really the 4th dimension, you can move from one area of 3D space to another, and plot a point based on its arrival time at that point. Now, based on the theory of time slowing down as gravity increases, like falling into a black hole for instance, you could be considered moving outside the normal flow of time, as well as a point away from all other points in 3D space (or from all points in 4D space). Moving in this manner would seem like you were shrinking, or collapsing, much like what might happen in a black hole. This also fits with the theory of an extra dimension being a tiny point in space. Anyone agree?

Answer 1

At least you are thinking. The flaw in this line of thought is that time does not slow due to gravity, it slows due to speed. Mass increases at the same time but the dilation of time is not governed by this.

Answer 2

No, sorry.  Gravity is best viewed in the general relativity sense, as a warping of spacetime in the presence of mass.  Think of the net gravitational field due to the bodies in our solar system.  There's no way you could formulate that into another (time-varying) dimension.

Answer 3

No.

A dimension is a coordinate needed to measure where (and when) a particle is.

You need to define x,y,z, and t--four dimensions.

Gravitational phenomena are adequately modeled in four dimensions.

A fifth dimension would imply that there is a multiplicity of 4-D space-times alongside our space time--and you need a fifth coordinate, a direction perpendicular to the others, to fully describe where/when a particle is in the 5-D space.  If this fifth dimension were very big, we would notice it.  So if a fifth (or more) dimension exists, it must be very tiny.

Answer 4

id have to say ur rite.

idk