Skip to content
Opens in a new window
Fourth Dimension

Public domain audiobook

Fourth Dimension

by Charles Howard Hinton

English· 09:05:03· 29 chapters
"Mr Hinton tries to explain the theory of the fourth dimension so that the ordinary reasoning mind can get a grasp of what metaphysical mathematicians mean by it. If he is not altogether successful, it is not from want of clearness on his part, but because the whole theory comes as such an absolute shock to all one's preconceived ideas" - The Bristol Times (quoted within the book).



This book was published in 1912. The author is attempting to communicate a very complex interweaving of philosophy and mathematics, and it is often difficult to follow his train of thought. However, it is hard to refute his idea of a four dimensional universe passing through and, in a way, creating our three dimensional one.



For sections 1-9, the reader attempted to describe the illustrations in the text, but as the pictures were getting more complex, a separate PDF file of illustrations was created, copied from the pages of the book. It can be downloaded from the catalog page on archive.org or via the link "Extracted illustrations of the book" on the left side below. (Summary by Peter Yeasley)

LibriVox recordings are public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ elsewhere.

Chapters

  1. Chapter 1

    Preface; Chapter 1 - Four Dimensional Space

    13:15
  2. Chapter 2

    Chapter 2 - The Analogy of a Plane World

    21:06
  3. Chapter 3

    Chapter 3 - The Significance of a Fourth Dimensional Existence

    15:40
  4. Chapter 4

    Chapter 4, part 1 - The First Chapter in the History of Four Space

    21:23
  5. Chapter 5

    Chapter 4, part 2 - The First Chapter in the History of Four Space

    19:00
  6. Chapter 6

    Chapter 5, part 1 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space

    11:22
  7. Chapter 7

    Chapter 5, part 2 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space

    19:16
  8. Chapter 8

    Chapter 5, part 3 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space

    14:56
  9. Chapter 9

    Chapter 6, part 1 - The Higher World

    17:04
  10. Chapter 10

    Chapter 6, part 2 - The Higher World

    16:59
  11. Chapter 11

    Chapter 7 - The Evidence for a Fourth Dimension

    18:16
  12. Chapter 12

    Chapter 8, part 1 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought

    14:02
  13. Chapter 13

    Chapter 8, part 2 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought

    13:50
  14. Chapter 14

    Chapter 8, part 3 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought

    16:34
  15. Chapter 15

    Chapter 9, part 1 - Application to Kant's Theory of Experience

    14:59
  16. Chapter 16

    Chapter 9, part 2 - Application to Kant's Theory of Experience

    17:59
  17. Chapter 17

    Chapter 10, part 1 - A Four-Dimensional Figure

    12:39
  18. Chapter 18

    Chapter 10, part 2 - A Four-Dimensional Figure

    10:32
  19. Chapter 19

    Chapter 11, part 1 - Nomenclature and Analogies ...

    16:34
  20. Chapter 20

    Chapter 11, part 2 - Nomenclature and Analogies ...

    17:41
  21. Chapter 21

    Chapter 12 - The Simplest Four-Dimensional Solid

    35:29
  22. Chapter 22

    Chapter 13, part 1 - Remarks on the Figures

    26:42
  23. Chapter 23

    Chapter 13, part 2 - Remarks on the Figures

    22:15
  24. Chapter 24

    Chapter 14, part 1 - A Recapitulation and Extension of the Physical Argument

    27:15
  25. Chapter 25

    Chapter 14, part 2 - A Recapitulation and Extension of the Physical Argument

    30:45
  26. Chapter 26

    Appendix 1, part 1 - The Models

    12:58
  27. Chapter 27

    Appendix 1, part 2 - The Models

    20:46
  28. Chapter 28

    Appendix 2, part 1 - A Language of Space

    27:05
  29. Chapter 29

    Appendix 2, part 2 - A Language of Space

    18:41