The fourth dimension isn’t something we can perceive, but it can still be an important tool for physicists.
However, researchers can also use advanced mathematics and light to develop to extended dimensions—known as “synthetic dimensions”—beyond just the ones we perceive. Additional dimensions allow systems to be manipulated mathematically in different ways, and can give scientists previously inaccessible insight.
This breakthrough comes from a branch of mathematics known as topology, which is the study of shapes and their arrangement in space.