An Answer in Search of a Question: Proofs of

the Tri-Dimensionality of Space

Craig Callender
Department of Philosophy, UCSD, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
In Kants first published work, Thoughts on the True Estimations of Living Forces
(1746), he speculated that spaces three-dimensionality can be derived from gravitys
inverse square law. Though he said more about dimensionality, especially in regard to
the phenomenon of handedness, he never developed this line of thought further. But the
very idea was revolutionary; for it is the first time that anyone tackled the question of
spatial dimensionality from a physical perspective, as opposed to a mathematical or
conceptual perspective. Kants conjecture started a long tradition, continuing to this day,
of philosophers and physicists trying to show or explain why space is three-dimensional.
Their efforts expand on Kants claim and typically look into other areas of physics
besides Newtonian gravitational theory.
Perhaps the most famous paper in the modern tradition is that by the eminent physicist
Paul Ehrenfest (1917). Here Ehrenfest points out in his brief introduction that the very
question why has space just three dimensions? perhaps has no sense and can be
exposed to justified criticism. But he says he will not pursue these matters in the paper,
instead leaving it to others to determine what are the justified questions to which our
considerations are fit answers (400). The answers are aspects of physical theory that
pick out three spatial dimensions as singular, such as the oft-heard claim that stable orbits
are possible only in three dimensions. Though there has been some discussion of the
physics of his answers, there has not been much if any philosophical scrutiny of what
the proper questions are.
In what follows I would like to examine the argument started by Kant, and developed by
Paley (1802), Ehrenfest, and others.
1
In fact this type of argument has been advanced in
scores of different areas, as well see, but the central version threading its way through all
1
See, for instance, Barrow (1983), Bchel (1963), Brgbacher et al (1999), Caruso and Xavier (19xx),
Hadamard (1923), Mariwalla (1971), Mirman (1986), Penney (1965), Tegmark (1997), Weyl (1922), and
Whitrow (1955). For more references and some historical background, see Jammer (1993). Not all of
these articles use stable planetary orbits in their argument. Among the claims on finds in this literature are:
the hydrogen atom has no bound states for n>3; the wave equation implies that high fidelity
communication requires n=3; only in n=3 do the gravitational, electric and neutrino fields determine their
fields with equal strength; atomic spectra imply that n=3; neutron diffraction experiments imply that
n5.
of this history is one, started by Paley, that argues to the conclusion that there are or must
be three spatial dimensions from a set of premises includingcruciallythe claim that
stable orbits are possible only in three dimensions. In what follows I challenge both the
truth of this specific premise and also the general argument. The first critique is
obviously relevant only to the species of arguments invoking stability and orbits, whereas
the second is relevant to the whole family of arguments seeking to explain the three-
dimensionality of space via some singular feature of physics in three dimensions. I
argue that, viewed as answers to the question that now motivates them, these answers fail
and cannot be saved. Rather than conclude on a negative point, however, I would like to
suggest that viewed from Kants original perspective or from a very modern perspective
that is, viewed with the right questions in mindsuch proofs or answers may well be
salvaged.
1. Context
The idea that there might be more than three spatial dimensions is not very startling to the
contemporary reader. Programs in quantum gravity and the popular science literature
abound with speculation that the number of spatial dimensions may be anywhere between
three and twenty-five. Some have even suggested the number is a fraction or even
complex, and still others that this number evolves with time.
2
It was not always this way.
Though higher-dimensional objects were well-known in mathematicsDiophantus and
Heron of Alexandria discussed objects such as dynamocubos, a square multiplied by a
cubesuch objects were thought of, at best, as playthings of the imagination. Pappus
(ca. 300 AD) counseled against thinking of such impossible objects, for one shouldnt
waste time on the impossible. Pappusian views dominated thought on dimensionality,
and can be found in ancient times through the work of Hermann Lotze, a 19
th
century
German philosopher, and even today in van Cleve (1989). Against this background it is
striking that Kant of all people (given his later views on space and time) was significantly
at odds with the prevailing wisdom of his time. For Kant thought not only that the
inverse square law entailed the three-dimensionality of space, but that God could have
chosen instead an inverse cube law which in turn would have picked out a four-
dimensional space, and so on.
The twentieth century witnessed remarkable changes in the mathematics, philosophy and
physics of dimensionality. Menger and Urysohn complete the development of the
topological theory of dimension. Kaluza and Klein use a fifth dimension to unify
gravity and electromagnetism, an attempt motivating contemporary superstring theories.
And the philosophers Carnap, Reichenbach and Poincare (who himself made
monumental contributions to the topology of dimensions), among others, advocated
geometric and topological conventionalism and applied it to spatial dimensionality. In
none of these fields was three spatial dimensions metaphysically or conceptually
mandated. The number three emerged for the conventionalists as simply the most
convenient integer for science to use (where convenient is read so broadly as to strain
the notion). Once this conventional choice has been made, Reichenbach thought, one
might still try to explain it with physical arguments of the sort well consider.
2
In order: Zeilinger and Svozil (1985), Ashmore (1973), Arkani-Hamed, Cohen, and Georgi (2001).
2
The attempt to prove the existence of three spatial dimensions using stable orbits and the
like persists through these many advances more or less unchanged. If anything, these
advances help this style of argument flourish in the twentieth century and today. How
one views these efforts, however, has changed in at least two respects. During the
heyday of ordinary language philosophy, the arguments of Kant, Paley and Ehrenfest are
aimed at showing that the number of spatial dimensions is contingent (see Swinburne
1968). For those interested in conceptual analysis and metaphysical necessity, the idea
that spatial dimensionality varies with physical law is surprising because physical law is
such a weak kind of necessity compared with conceptual or metaphysical necessity.
Meanwhile, for those for whom the number of dimensions is definitely up for grabs, such
as string theorists, the potential surprise would occur if these arguments infused the
number three with any kind of necessity at all. Indeed, one might ask how is it that the
stable orbits tradition has existed alongside the physics of extra dimensions? For dont
they conflict, one saying there need be three dimensions and the other saying there need
be more? Not necessarily. The most recent efforts to show that physics entails three
dimensions carefully amend their claims so as not to rule out superstring theory. The
claim is that at some non-fundamental level three dimensions are required, but this leaves
open higher dimensions at fundamental levels. Kantians about dimensionality need not
be Pappusians.
2. Kant, Gauss and Gravity
It is not hard to fill in the details of what Kant must have had in mind when he said the
inverse square law determined the dimensionality of space to be three. Indeed, it will be
useful for our later discussion to flesh this comment out, noting the connection between
Newtons inverse square law for gravity, the dimensionality of space, and Gauss law.
Having died before Gauss was born, Kant of course didnt use Gauss law. Nor did he
need it. My digression through Gauss law is motivated by the fact that it just falls out
from Kants reasoning and will be important to us laternot by a desire to reconstruct
what Kant actually thought.
Gauss law is the statement that the total flux through a closed surface of any shape with
mass (or charge) p inside is equal to the net mass enclosed anywhere in that surface
(divided by a constant). It is of central importance in many areas of physics. To
understand the general idea of the law, consider a tube with water flowing through it, as
pictured. Suppose the water has density and is traveling with velocity v. Consider an
imaginary surface S cutting the tube and some sub-area of it, A. How much water will
cross A in time t? The answer is trivial: the cylinder with size vtA will pass
through A, so multiplying this by the density, we have vtA. If we now divide out
t we find the rate of flow, or flux, of the water: vA. If we then generalize to surfaces
not normal to the velocity of the water and also sum over all faces A while taking the
limit, then we obtain:

S
dA n v
3
where
n v
is the part of the velocity pointing normal to S. If we let F = v, and A =
An, where n is normal to the surface, then we get the familiar expression

S
dA F
for the flux, where F and A are vectorial quantities. If we have a faucet with water
flowing out and enclose it within an imaginary surface of arbitrary shape, the amount of
flux equals the amount of water crossing this surface. Gauss law is then the claim that
this flux is equal to the source times a constant when the surface is closed around the
source. Gauss law (for water) is intimately bound up with the idea that the amount of
water is conserved, for it ties the amount of water passing through a closed surface to the
amount of water inside that surface.
In the case of gravity, there is not some stuff that plays the role of water. We are
instead talking about a vector field and its source is not a faucet but a massive body. The
Newtonian gravitational force between two bodies is of course
2
2 1
r
Fg
m Gm

where m
1
and m
2
are the masses of the bodies, G is Newtons constant (with dimensions
of spatial volume, mass and time) and r is the distance vector between the two bodies.
We can still define a kind of flux, though its not really a flow in the intuitive sense. We
just substitute the vector field F with the gravitational field strength:

S
g dA g
where g is the gravitational field strength, with g= F
g
/m. The gravitational flux is,
loosely, the amount of gravitational influence a source has. Given one mass a distance r
away from another, g encodes how much acceleration the force from one body exerts on
the other. The flux
g
is now the amount of strength passing through the surface. One
then makes a kind of hunch that gravitational flux will be conserved, which is equivalent
to the idea that Newtons law expresses conservation for the number of field lines
emerging from a mass source. This hunch is spectacularly well confirmed. Gauss law is
now written as

i
i g
M G 4
where the sum is over the various mass sources inside the surface and the minus sign
arises from the attractive nature of gravity. Gauss law is crucial to explaining a number
of observed effects. The most familiar are that the force produced by a solid sphere of
matter is the same at the surface of the sphere as it would be if the matter were
concentrated at the source, originally proved by Newton. It is also essential in allowing
4
that a spherical shell of matter produces no gravitational field inside. Gauss law in both
electromagnetism and gravity is confirmed to an extra-ordinary accuracy.
To see the connections among the force law, Gauss law and dimensionality, lets look at
an especially simple case. Suppose we have a single massive point source located at p.
Enclose p with two concentric spheres, S
1
and S
2
, centered upon p, as in Figure 1. The
surface area of such spheres increases as r
2
, of course. Suppose we want flux
conservation. How can we get this if the surface area spreads as r
2
? Simple: we demand
that gravitational force is emitted as a spherical expanding field but that the magnitude of
this field decreases by r
-2
to cancel the increase in area. Thus we need an inverse square
field.
In slightly more detail, the outward flux from a sphere is


S S
g
gS gdA dA g
(Here we can use g rather than g
n
, the component of g normal to the surface S, because
were assuming the field is radial and S is spherical.) Now assume that the gravitational
force is given by
2
r
GM
g
and that the surface area is given by
2
4 r S
. Plug in these
values into our definition of flux
GM
GM
gS g 4 4
2
2

,
_

r
r
and we arrive at Gauss law. Textbooks commonly derive the form of the force law from
the assumption of Gauss law, but as above, it is easy to derive Gauss law once one has
the force law. One of course needs various other assumptions; most notably, that the
force is emitted radially from the source and that space is isotropic. But with Euclidean
space as a kind of background presupposition (which well remove later), isotropy is
implied and radial emission is natural (because of the usual correspondence between
dynamical and space-time symmetries). With these assumptions in place, one can see
that any field other than an inverse square field would entail that the r
2
s dont cancel and
Gauss law wouldnt hold. If we had, say, an inverse cube field, then the flux would
decrease with increasing r (r
-3
x r
2
=r
-1
). For any field other than an inverse square field
the flux would depend on the distance of the surface from the source.
How do dimensions fit in? In the above reasoning, we are implicitly assuming something
about the dimensionality of space, for we are assuming that the force radiates from the
source as a sphere and not a hypersphere, or a circle, etc. The source thus radiates into a
3-dimensional space rather than some other space. Jump up one dimension and suppose
the force still emerges from the point radially and into an isotropic space. The surface
area of the sphere S=4r
2

is now replaced with that of the hypersphere S = 2
2
r
3
. In this
case, however, an inverse square field no longer cancels out the r-dependence and an
inverse cube field would be needed for such a result.

5
Of course, this kind of reasoning must be dramatically complicated when we turn to the
curved geometries and non-trivial topologies allowed by general relativity. No longer
can we assume that space is flat and isotropic or that the topology Euclidean. And no
longer will Gauss law in general be truea fact related to the lack of global energy
conservation in general relativity. To see the point quickly, suppose that space itself is
curved into a hypersphere. Then as the force from a mass source spreads, it will
eventually come back on itself: the lines of force will interfere with one another. And in
a variably curved spacetime the lines of force will be enormously complicated. No
surprise, then, that Gauss law is not in general true in general relativity.
3
One can still
find constraints on dimensionality in general relativity, but if they are exact they will be
heavily solution-dependent. Perhaps one could get something slightly more general if
one imposed restrictions such as that the equations for matter contain only differentials of
second order or less and that the geometry be one with various symmetries.
Alternatively, one might abandon any aspirations for such proofs and merely view these
proofs as relevant in the weak-field approximation, where Newtonian theory holds. In
this case, one would adopt the same attitude toward general relativity as modern
dimension-provers adopt toward superstring theory and the like (mentioned above).
Returning to Kant and classical physics, we have seen that Kants claim that the
dimensionality of space is related to the inverse square law is, left at that, plainly true.
3
For a spherically symmetric distribution of matter, Birkhoff showed that Einsteins equations have a
unique solution, namely, the Schwarzschild solution. A corollary of this is a version of Gauss law: in such
a solution the acceleration of a mass shell in a dust filled universe depends only on the matter inside the
shell.
6
They are intimately connected, once one has the necessary assumptions about forces and
the nature of space in place. Kant himself, in the Estimation, claims a particular direction
of dependency: that the three-dimensional character seems to derive from the fact that
substances in the existing world act on each other in such a way that the strength of the
action is inversely proportional to the square of the distances (p.x). One might ask why
dimensionality follows from the inverse square law and not vice versa. Well return to
this question after discussing the modern arguments.
3. The Stable Orbits Argument
Kants suggestion is really just that, a suggestion, as opposed to a developed argument for
the three-dimensionality of space. Starting with Paley (1802), however, others picked up
the idea that a physical argument could be provided for explaining the dimensionality
Though the physical phenomena vary from argument to argument, by far the most
common is one that begins with our observation of various stable planetary orbits (see,
for instance, Barrow (1983), Bchel (1963), Ehrenfest (1917), Tangherlini (1963),
Tegmark (1997), Whitrow (1959)). The idea, in a nutshell, is that the existence of stable
planetary orbits explains in some sense the three-dimensionality of our world. Well talk
about what sense of explanation they are looking for with such proofs in 5.2. Here I just
want to present the argument. Its main claim is that stable orbits are possible only (or
nearly only) in three spatial dimensions. Perfectly circular orbits where the attractive
force is exactly compensated by the necessary centrifugal force are possible in all spatial
dimensions. But circular orbits, the argument goes, are extremely unlikely. The slightest
perturbation destroys the orbit. In our world, we have remarkably stable elliptical orbits.
All manner of forces constantly perturb these objects yet still they (for the most part)
continue in elliptical orbits. We can only have these orbits in three dimensions, and this
(somehow) explains why there are three dimensions.
In what follows I will focus almost exclusively on the stable orbits arguments, as I
believe it is representative of the remainder of the arguments and also the most common.
Virtually every general point I have to make about this argument holds also, so far as I
can see, with the other arguments mentioned in footnote 1 as well. I will follow Bchels
version of the argument because it is a little more sophisticated than some textbook
versions of the same claims, but not as cumbersome as Ehrenfests or as quick as
Barrows. Lets now look at Bchels argument in more detail.

We begin with the Poisson-LaPlace equation for a gravitational potential.
k
x
V
x
V
x
V
x
V
n

+ +

2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
...
(1)
Here V is the potential and is the density of the matter field. Note three features of this
equation, all of them important to what follows. First, were assuming it valid in all
spatial dimensions n. Second, it is Gauss law, which we saw above; that is, this is the
differentiable form of Gauss law written for a scalar potential using the identity g =
-grad V. Third, the electrostatic potential can be described the same way, so just as with
7
Kants argument, what can be said for gravity can be said for electricity (relevant for the
analogous argument using stable atoms).
The solution of (1) is
2

n
C
V
r

and the force is defined as
1
) 2 (

n
r
C n
F
.
C is an arbitrary constant and r is the distance to any point in the field. We are thus
assuming that the inverse square force is not true in all spatial dimensions; rather, in one
dimension its inverse r, in three dimensions its inverse cube, etc.
For Bchel, a stable obit is one where r alternates for all time between its perihelion
(minimum) value r
1
and aphelion (maximum) value r
2
. He considers the two-body
problem, where m is the mass of a planet describing a central orbit around another body.
The planets angular momentum M is constant and equal to

2
mr M
(2)
where is the azimuthal speed.
Bchel then makes the approximation that at extreme distances from the central body
dr/dt=0 (p. 1223). When the velocity vanishes, the kinetic energy becomes
2
2
2mr
M
T
.
He then invokes the conservation of energy, T+V=constant, to write:
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
1
2
2 2


n n
r
C
mr
M
r
C
mr
M
.
Using equation (2), the centripetal force in a circular orbit is
3
2
mr
M
F
c

.
We now observe that for an eccentric orbit, the attractive force must be less than the
centripetal force at perihelion; otherwise the planet would crash into the other mass.
8
Similarly, at aphelion, the attractive force must be greater than the centripetal force;
otherwise the planet would escape to infinity. Hence we impose two conditions: (a) at r
1
,
F<F
c
and (b) at r
2
, F>F
c
. We can then substitute these values into our statement of
conservation, obtaining an inequality because were replacing something small by
something smaller and something large by something larger. Massaging a bit, we obtain:
1
]
1

,
_

<
1
]
1

,
_

1
2
2
2
1
2
1
2
) 2 (
2
1
) 2 (
2
1
n
mr
M
n
mr
M
.
Remembering that r
2
>r
1
, this condition rules out any elliptic orbit for n4.
The other proofs begin the same way. Ehrenefest begins with the Poisson equation, finds
the equations of motion, and then looks for trajectories for which
r
has real and
alternatively positive and negative values. If this is not the case then the planet must
either crash into the one its orbiting or escape to infinity. Like Bchel he finds that in
n4 there can be no stable orbits; however, unlike Bchel he finds that there can be stable
orbits in n=2 but these orbits are not closed and lack other desirable properties. Barrow
instead invokes two conditions as necessary without comment:
r
3
F(r) 0 as r 0
r
3
F(r) as r .
But these can be reproduced from some standard textbook calculations.
In sum, assuming that the Poisson equation valid in all dimensions and that our world
contains stable orbits, the argument to an inverse square law can be read as an argument
for three spatial dimensions. Tanglerini makes the same kind of argument but with a
general relativistic analysis in the Schwarzchild solution (more on which later).
Proponents of the stability argument dont seem terribly worried by n < 3. Negative
dimensions are impossible according to any of the usual ways of understanding either
topological or metrical dimension. Furthermore, there are no orbits in n=1, so the
question is really about excluding n=2. This rejection of two spatial dimensions is done
in a variety of ways. Ehrenfest and Buchel exclude it because they want the gravitational
potential to vanish at infinity, but it doesnt in n=2. Ehrenfest also mentions Bertrands
theorem at this point, though its role in the argument is not spelled out. However, its
easy to see how it could be relevant: this theorem says bounded trajectories are only
closed under a central force when the force law is proportional to the distance between
objects or inversely proportional to its square. Assuming the orbits must be closed, this
would help us exclude n=2 (though see section X). Whitrow, Hawking (19xx) and
Tegmark dismiss n=2 because biological organisms would face all sorts of
insurmountable topological problems; n=2 worlds are too barren to contain observers
(Tegmark, 70). The idea here is an anthropic one that we will come across again.
Another remark one sees is that there is no gravitational force in general relativity for
n<3.
9
4. Previous Objections
Before getting to my own objections, lets look at two others that have been made to the
stability argument.
(a). Russells Objection
In his dissertation-turned-book, Russell (1897) holds that there are three a priori
principles that ground geometry. One of them is that there are a finite number of spatial
dimensions; the exact number, he thought, is contingent and known a posteriori. In
making this claim, Russell argues, and van Fraassen (1985) echoes (p. 136), that there
might be a small inaccuracy in Newtons law of gravity that remained undetected, but
that a small inaccuracy in space being three-dimensional wouldnt go undetected.
The limitation of the dimensions to three isempirical; nevertheless, it is not
liable to the inaccuracy and uncertainty which usually belong to empirical
knowledge. For the alternatives which logic leaves to sense are discreteif the
dimensions are not three, they must be two or four or some other numberso that
small numbers are out of the question. Hence the final certainty of the axiom of
three dimensions, though in part due to experience, is of quite a different order
from that of (say) the law of gravitation. (163)
From this argument we are supposed to conclude that Kants argument and those like it
cannot succeed.
Though I feel I understand what Russell might have tried to get at with this objectionI
think he is reaching toward an objection I mount lateras it is stated I cant understand
it. True, G, Newtons constant, might differ slightly from what we think it is, or r
2
might
really be r
2.00001
.
4
These variables can take on a value in the range of the real numbers,
whereas the topological or metrical dimensionality can only take on a value in the range
of the natural numbers. But if read as the claim that were always more certain of the
values of natural-numbered quantities than real-numbered quantities, Im not sure I see a
reason to believe this. In both cases there are an infinite number of ways of being wrong.
How can the difference between an uncountable number of ways of being wrong versus a
countable number of ways of being wrong show up at the level of epistemic warrant? To
have a probability at all requires a countable, not uncountable, space of alternatives. So
the difference between the two (countable versus uncountable spaces) evaporates from
the point of view of placing a probability metric on the possibilities.
4
In 1894 Hall, measuring the power law F r
n
from the excess precession of Mercury, found n =
-2.00000016. This would have eliminated the need to account for the motion of Mercury with a new
theory; however, such a value for n would have been inconsistent with other motions in the solar system.
10
Van Fraassen interprets Russell as making the point that the topological properties like
dimension are more fundamental than the metric properties described by gravitation. He
writes
Dimensionality is not a metric but a topological feature of space. Hence, the
features of the physical world pointed out are simply not basic enough to shed
much light on the dimensionality of space. (136)
Again, at least prima facie, the argument is not compelling. To be sure, mathematically
the spacetime metric requires a manifold with topological structure; in a formal sense the
topology is more fundamental than the metric. But that does not mean that they are not
on a par physically or metaphysically. There are many senses of fundamental, and an
argument is needed to show that were more certain about the more mathematically
fundamental. Coming from van Fraassen interpreting Russell, this point is ironic. Both
philosophers are spacetime relationists, i.e., those wanting to found all spatiotemporal
features of the world on distance relations among events. Yet from this perspective one
usually gets the topology from the distance relations between objects, so the metric is
more basic than the topology.
(b) Why Gravity?
Why does the gravitational force dictate the dimensionality and not (say) the strong
force? This is a question Abramenko (1958) asks. Indeed, we cannot run the same sort
of argument with the strong force, the force binding the nucleus together that acts on
gluons and quarks. In gravity and electromagnetism, the strength of the field decreases
like r
-2
a distance r away from a charge or mass source. The strong force, which is
transmitted via eight gluons, does not behave this way. The force between color charges
(quarks and gluons) does not decrease with distance. Color flux is not conserved, so we
just cant argue Ehrenfest-like with the strong force. But it is a fundamental force, too, so
why doesnt it have some say in the matter of dimensionality?
This is an interesting point, but not one devastating to the argument. One can imagine
Ehrenfest and especially Kant pointing out that gravity and only gravity is a universal
force, whereas the strong interaction occurs only between colored particles, the
electromagnetic interaction occurs only between electrically charged particles, and the
weak interaction occurs only between quarks, leptons and electroweak gauge bosons.
Gravity, being the only universal force, gets to decide. Alternatively, one could
imagine Ehrenfest et al acknowledging the oddness of this feature, but then answering
so what? After all, this point doesnt challenge any of the premises of the original
argument, so it can only have rhetorical force.
In any case, many similar arguments dont appeal to gravity (cf. fn. 1). One can imagine
repeating this question about any physical feature picked out as special by one of these
arguments. But if the complaint is a general one, namely, that these features are too
contingent to play the role assigned to them, then I think they reducelike Russells
to an objection well come to soon.
11
5. Objections
5.1 Too Simple
A major empirical premise of the stable orbits argument is that some actual phenomena
are correctly classified as stable orbits. The argument has force only if the stability it
refers to is what we actually observe. If the conditions on stability are wildly unrealistic
then the proof may be impeccable, as far as it goes, but be irrelevant to our world. If one
proved that perfect fractal trajectories are only possible in three dimensions, we wouldnt
be very impressed for probably there arent any actual perfect fractal trajectories. Before
tackling the argument form itself, I would like to question whether this oft-repeated
claim, namely, that stable orbits are possible only in three dimensions, is even remotely
established.
There are a number of places where one might worry; but broadly speaking, the worries
will be that what is meant by stable orbit is either too strong or too weak. If Poincare
recurrence counted as completing an orbit, the criterion would clearly be too weak. But I
am more interested in whether what is meant is too strong. For instance, if the proof only
worked for a strictly periodic orbit, then obviously the planet Mercurys orbit wouldnt
count as a stable orbit, for it travels a slow precessional ellipse that deviates slightly from
elliptical and whose properties evolve over time. If all the other planets, moons, etc. also
had orbits that evolve like Mercurys over time, but just less so, then the argument
wouldnt apply to anything in the actual world.
Along these lines, notice that in the proof of Bchel it is assumed that the orbits are
always between r
min
and r
max
. In the real world, presumably everything above the
molecular scale that we call an orbit actually had a beginning. Since the equations are
time reversible invariant, that is equivalent to them having an end point. Viewed
backwards in time, the actual history is one where each planet either crashed into another
mass or escaped into infinity (or Big Bang singularity). By ruling these out, were ruling
out the actual history. One might think we could add on entry or exit paths onto the
orbits between r
min
and r
max
, but if the orbits are otherwise exactly the same then its clear
this violates classical mechanics determinism.
Related to this, all we really have evidence of are orbits of less than 15 billion years, so
the assumption that the orbits are eternally between r
min
and r
max
may also be too strong.
When one goes to dimensions other than three, it is not as if all initial trajectories crash
into the central planet or begin their journey to infinity right away. For some initial
conditions one will find orbits that much later crash or escape. So we need some
confidence that much later doesnt equal 15 billion years for some initial conditions.
The proofs dont warrant this confidence. Going further in this direction, one can
imagine future claims to the effect that stable orbits are generic in the relevant solution
space in three dimensions but not others, but the existing proofs are far from establishing
this; and such proofs still would leave open the possibility that we live in (say) five
dimensions but with an atypical initial condition. In general, there are scores of different
12
understandings of structural stability in dynamical systems theory, especially catastrophe
theory, such as Lypanov stability and the kind used in the famous KAM theorem, yet the
proof picks a particularly unrealistic conception of stability.
One might also worry about any proof invoking Bertrands theorem, as Ehrenfest seems
to in ruling out stable orbits in two dimensions. Bertrands theorem is usually quickly
glossed as saying that the only bounded trajectories of a central force problem that are
closed are those described by a force that is proportional to the distance between bodies
or a force inversely proportional to it square. However, the gloss overstates matters.
Bertrands theorem in fact proves that those two force laws are the only bounded
trajectories that close for every initial condition. But there are still an infinite number of
closed trajectories with other force laws possible; its just that for these other force laws
the trajectories dont stay closed under substitution of arbitrary initial conditions. An
inverse fifth force with zero total energy and nonzero angular momentum leads to a circle
through the area of force, for instance.
5
Since we certainly dont observe that the closed
orbits in our world are also closed in all other ones with the same laws, proofs crucially
invoking Bertrands theorem are again too strong.
Finally, when we move to general relativity and non-Euclidean spacetimes, everything
changes once againas in the Kantian case. In this case too proofs about stability and
orbits will be solution-dependent. Here is important to point out, however, that
Tangherlini (1963) does indeed extend the kind of proof were discussing to a
Schwarzschild solution, the natural solution to use for our Keplerian orbit problem. Of
course, this solution and the corresponding proof crucially rely on the assumptions of a
static and spherically symmetric metric, so the proof is only as good as the solution is an
approximation. In fact its a very good approximation to certain systems (e.g., Mercurcy-
Sun system) and a poor one to others (e.g., inside the sun, or the global spacetime). As
before, if the intention of the proof is to base it on fundamental physics, we would want
to use the metric closest to the actual metric of the actual world. If, by contrast, the
intention is only to show that in certain regimes the proof obtains, one may be satisfied
with such a proof.
Despite these misgivings, there are other proofs dealing with other phenomena. And we
have not uncovered any in principle reason for thinking future arguments about stable
orbits and dimensionality couldnt be convincing. So let us continue, therefore, under the
assumption that physics can indeed show that stable orbits are possible only in three
dimensions. What do we make of the argument in that case?
5.2 Modal Mayhem: Is Tri-Dimensionality Explained?
Let us begin by immediately distinguishing two questions blurred in most of the spatial
dimensions literature:
(1) How many spatial dimensions are there?
5
This point is made in a Letter to the Editor, by Martin S. Tiersten (American Journal of Physics, 70, 7,
July 2002, 664).
13
and
(2) Why are there that many spatial dimensions?
The first question merely tries to figure out the right number; the second tries to answer
why its that number. The second question takes the number of spatial dimensions as a
contingent feature of the universe, one needy of explanation.
Virtually every participant in this tradition seeks to answer (2) rather than (1). Thus
Barrow talks of explaining why the world has three dimensions (337), Whitrows very
title asks this question, Penney hopes to present a raison detre for the observed
dimensionality of the physical world 1607), and so on. Probably Tangherlini states
the claim clearest among non-philosophers. He wants to take the claim There shall exist
stable orbits, make it a principle of n-dimensional dynamics and gravitation theory, and
then show that the proposition that space is three-dimensional becomes a theorem, rather
than an axiom (639) of such physics. The idea underlying all of this work is admirable
enough: take something that seems to be brute or necessary in our theoretical framework
and show instead that it is contingent and its value can be derived from this framework.
There are many ways of answering question (1). For instance, one might look to
fundamental physics the way Poincare and Reichenbach do. Poincare and Reichenbach,
being conventionalists, thought that there was no fact of the matter regarding
dimensionality until one had made various definitions and assumptions. One could fit the
phenomena, in principle, in any number of dimensions. The question is which number is
most convenient for science. Both answer three, Poincare due to interesting group
theoretical considerations and Reichenbach due to a desire to satisfy the principle of
action by contact, which he felt satisfiable only in three dimensions. (Albert (1996)
recently turns the Reichenbach argument on its head in the quantum realm.) Today string
theorists and others are arguing that the most natural dimensionality is 10 or 11, since
these dimensions allow for the existence of various symmetries and also allegedly unify
and explain the existence of the forces. Note that one need not be a conventionalist to
make these kinds of arguments. Naturalness, simplicity, consilience, unification, etc.,
might be marks of truth rather than marks of convenience. Even the conventionalists
werent so conventionalist about spatial dimensionalityPoincare suggests that biology
might hard-wire us into believing in three spatial dimensions.
I want to grant that the stability argument and Kants considerations might play some role
in answering question (1). After all, in Euclidean space at least, we do have a very tidy
set of relationships, having the force expand isotropically through the space, flux
conservation, the orbits being stable under perturbation, etc. Surely any other force laws,
etc. would greatly complicate our physics. So this argument may help us determine
which dimensionality is the most natural one given the phenomena and explanations of
other phenomena.

The same goes for many of the other arguments.
6
6
For instance, Ehrenfest pointed out a connection I find fascinating, namely, that there is a dualism
between rotation and translation in three and only three dimensions: both are defined via three
14
But, as Reichenbach states, one can proceed, after recognizing that the three-
dimensionality is a physical fact, to the question of its explanation, i.e., one can now
search for a cause of the three-dimensionality of space (279-280). We can move from
question (1) to question (2). Being no stranger to stability arguments like the one were
considering, Reichenbach in fact gives it as an example of an answer to (2):
Such a proof might read: If space has n dimensions, and it is a general law of
nature that that the attraction between masses varies inversely with the (n-1)th
power of their distance, then the dimensionality of space must be n=3, since
otherwise the motion of the planets and also the arrangement of the stars would
not be stable (280).
Though unsatisfied with such arguments to date because they were not generally
relativistic he endorses the general line. He then comments on this strategy:
The three dimensionality would thus be recognized as a logical consequence of
certain fundamental properties of matter, which in turn would have to be accepted
as ultimate facts. Any other attempt at explanation would be vain. The three
dimensionality of space cannot be maintained as an absolute necessity; it is a
physical fact like any other, and therefore subject to the same kind of explanation
(280)
Lets suppose that the arguments succeed in showing that there cant be stable orbits in
n>3; and furthermore, that the laws weve formulated are THE laws for any dimension;
and furthermore, that stability in this argument is neither too strong nor too weak to count
known phenomena, like the moons orbit, as stable. Can the stability argument answer
the why question?
There is a strong feelingwhich I think Russell, van Fraassen and Abramenko were all
expressingthat stability is just the wrong kind of feature to use to explain why space is
three-dimensional. One wants to parody the argument by appealing to something like the
fact that separating inter-locked three-dimensional iron rings is challenging to human
beings in three dimensions, but it would not be challenging in four dimensions or more:
If space has n dimensions, and it is a general law of nature that closed inter-locked
n-dimensional rings of matter cannot be separated by creatures such as human
beings, then the dimensionality of space must be n=3, since otherwise separating
inter-locked rings wouldnt be challenging in our world
The feeling is that stability, like the challenge of separating rings, is simply not a deep
enough feature to explain dimensionality; if anything, these facts are symptoms of the
dimensionality.
characterizing numbers. In two dimensions, there is only one type of rotation and two types of translation;
in four dimensions, there are six types of rotation and four translations, and so on.. Yet in three dimensions
there are three types of rotation and three types of translation. This deep geometrical fact has many
repercussions throughout dynamics.
15
Lets look more closely at the argument:
1. Space has n dimensions
2. It is a general law of nature that that the attraction between masses varies
inversely with the (n-1)th power of their distance
3. If 2, then planets are stable only in n=3
4. The planets are stable
5. Therefore, it is/must be the case that n=3.
I take it that we want the must be reading in 5 to get an answer to (2) rather than (1).
The is reading just adds stability to the pot of evidence we have for thinking space is in
fact three-dimensional. Stability would give DN confirmation of the hypothesis that
space is three-dimensional, but it wouldnt explain the dimensionality any more than
finding a raven that is black explains why all ravens are black. To get an explanation we
need the must reading in 5, but for that we need premise 4 to read that the planets must be
stable. In Reichenbachs terminology, we need to treat his ultimate fact as absolute
necessities; in Tangerlinis terminology, it must be an axiom that the planets are stable.
The obvious question is, why treat stability, which is not a corollary of any fundamental
law, as necessary or axiomatic? Surely there didnt have to be stable orbits.
It is not surprising that at this point one sees appeals to the dubious anthropic argument
made in the literature. Hawking and Barrow, for instance, have provided anthropic
arguments that explain the 3-dimensionality of space. Hawking, and to some extent
Tegmark and Whitrow, have said that life is only compatible with three dimensions, so
the fact that were around now explains why there are three dimensions. But even if 3
spatial dimensions are a necessary condition of life, it doesnt follow that there must be 3-
dimensions. It only follows that there is 3-d. Unless one adopts the vaguely theological
strong anthropic principle and holds that there must be life, we wont get an explanation
of why there are 3 dimensions. See Worrall 1996 for a critique of anthropic reasoning in
many of its forms.
Now I suspect that a positivist/empiricist of Reichenbachs stripe may not be bothered by
this kind of criticism: he wasnt one of physical necessitys greatest fans and surely didnt
think it necessary for scientific explanations. In his eyes, such a proof reduces two
phenomena to one phenomenon by linking dimensionality to stable orbits, and that is
presumably all one can hope for. Nor would Tangherlini be over-impressed; for him it is
simply a matter of whether adding there must be stable orbits to the fundamental laws
of physics is worthwhile. Should such a claim be a theorem or an axiom?
This question is naturally approached via Lewis idea of the Best System:
Take all deductive systems whose theorems are true. Some are simpler better
systematized than others. Some are stronger, more informative than others. These
virtues compete: An uninformative system can be very simple, an unsystematized
compendium of miscellaneous information can be very informative. The best
16
system is the one that strikes as good a balance as truth will allow between
simplicity and strengthA regularity is a law iff it is a theorem of the best
system. (Lewis 1994)
Roughly, the laws of nature are the axioms of those true deductive systems with the
greatest balance of simplicity and strength. Reichenbach/Tangherlinis suggestion, put in
this context, is that the proposition that there exist stable orbits is an axiom of the Best
System. The suggestion is a bit peculiar since the proposition expresses a matter of
particular fact rather than a generalization. But such a novel extension has precedent.
7

In this case it seems clear, however, that Reichenbach/Tangherlinis suggestion would
not make it into the Best System as an axiom. Compared to Einsteins equations, Diracs
equation, etc., this claim that there exists stable orbits seems very weak. From the
stability of orbits we dont get all that much strength. Arguably we get the three
dimensionality of space, but that is about it. Furthermore, to actually infer truths about
the world from such a generalization it will need to be vastly more complicated than its
present form. After all, not just anything can get into a stable orbit with anything else.
So if the generalization is to be true, it will have to restrict its scope quite severely. This
move will have costs, both in terms of the simplicity of the generalization and in terms of
its strength. For these kinds of reason I dont believe stability is powerful or simple
enough a fact to merit inclusion in the Best System.
5.3 Modal Mayhem II: What is Physics of N>3?
Let me now turn to what I think is the most fundamental worry about proofs like the one
weve examined. In the brief introduction to his 1917 paper, Ehrenfest asked What is
meant by physics of R
4
or R
7
? He clearly recognized the importance of the question,
but he left it to others to consider. It is obvious why this question is important. We only
get the result that three dimensions are special if we hold some aspects of our laws of
physics fast and vary the dimensionality. To say that stable orbits are possible only in
n<4 we need a theory of gravity, etc., in 4, 5, 6 If every physical feature is allowed to
vary with the dimensionalityas Poincare (cite ref) allowsit is hard to see how
anything could turn out physically special. Most advocates of this type of argument
explicitly endorse assumptions about what laws operate in higher dimensions. In fact,
Barrow and Tipler espouse a principle of similarity: the assumption that the laws of
physics in worlds of other dimensionality are as similar to ours as possible. This kind of
assumption finds its way into Buchels proof at the first step: if we didnt assume the
Laplace-Poisson equation valid for all n in the proof, it would immediately collapse. The
other worlds are similar to ours in holding LaPlace-Poisson steady while letting the force
law vary. If instead we assumed that anything goes in each dimension, then we could
simply assume there are stable orbits in any n and then solve for what the n-dimensional
laws must be to make it so.
7
Following Boltzmann and others I defend such a move for the cosmological low entropy initial condition
required by thermodynamics; see Callender 2004.
17
Recent work in physics (see Caruso and Xavier 1987 and Burgbacher et 1999) has more
or less proceeded in this fashion without appreciating the general point. Burgbacher et al,
for instance, show that that there are stable hydrogen atoms in higher dimensions,
contrary to the Ehrenfest result against stable hydrogen atoms (see Buchel 1963 too).
Burgbacher et als reasoning applies to stable planetary orbits too, an application that
they explicitly endorse. Lets review their reasoning, for I think seeing it will make the
general lesson emerge with ease.
Working with electrodynamics and stable atoms, Burgbacher et al claim that in all
dimensions stability requires that the electrostatic potential be proportional to r
-1
. They
begin with the assumption that there is stability and that its described by a potential
proportional to r
-1
in all dimensions. Then they work backward, as it were, to discover
what laws would be needed to give r
-1
potentials in all dimensions. For n>3 this leads
them to modify the Maxwell equations, yet the solutions of these new equations have the
same structure as for n=3 and the force between charges is the same as in n=3. The main
differences, however, are that the modified Maxwell equations do not lead to a Gaussian
law for charges and in even higher dimensions lead to nonlocal equations.
As they note, the same reasoning can be used for stable orbits in the case of gravity, and
hence, our case. Again, they hold fast stable orbits and an r
-1
potentialthis time the
gravitational potential. They then work backwards and find that they are forced to
modify the Poisson-LaPlace equation for the Newtonian potential in the same way as
they had to modify that equation for the electrostatic potential. As the Poisson-LaPlace
equation is simply Gauss law, Gauss law is broken in this case too. General
relativistically, their changes would entail slightly modifying Einsteins equations in
higher dimensions.
Burgbacher et al do not deny the validity of the Ehrenfest-style argument. Rather, they
are essentially doing the classic move of making Ehrenfests modus ponens a modus
tollens. We have an inconsistent set: {(a) Gauss law/Poisson equation, (b) stability (r
-1

potential), (c) stability in n>3 dimensions}. Ehrenfest holds the first two members fast
and denies that there could be stability in n>3 dimensions. Burgbacher holds the last two
fast and denies Gauss law and related higher-level equations. They write, we think that
the specific expression for the force between charged particles and the stability of atoms
are of more basic physical importance than the validity of Gauss law (633). They do
show that Gauss law is valid for a quantity related to the field strength, but it is not valid
for the field strength itself.
Burbacher et al Ehrenfest
Assume There is stable motion in n>3 Gauss law/
described by 1/r potential Poisson equation
Then Modify Gauss/Poisson equation There is no stable
motion in n>3
18
We have a kind of Quine-Duhem problem in action. How are we to arrange these
premises? If we view Gauss law as basic and important, then we will not be willing to
modify Maxwells/Poissons/Einsteins equations so as to obtain stable motion. If we are
willing to sacrifice Gauss law as Burgbacher et al are, then we can get stable motion.
How are we to adjudicate this debate?
One might think that if the battle were between a fundamental law and a non-fundamental
one, then an argument could be made that the fundamental law should win, that
fundamental laws should not be varied with dimensionality. If one anointed Gauss law
fundamental, then one would go with Ehrenfest; if one anointed the form of the potential
fundamental, then one would go with Burgbacher et al. What is nice about this case is
that neither I nor people Ive talked to about it have any idea which way to go. In the
classical case we saw how one could get the form of the force law (and hence the form of
the potential too) from assuming Gauss law; alternatively, we saw how one could get
Gauss law from the form of the force law (and hence potential). The assumptions to get
from one to the other are equally mild, so one lacks strong intuitions about which way to
go.
The problem, I submit, is simply that there is no background theoretical framework that
can help us answer this question. Both Ehrenfest and Burgbacher et al are extending
some n=3 physical laws to higher dimensions and not extending some others. Absent a
developed physical theory that takes dimensionality as contingent and offers principled
physical constraints on what can happen in different dimensions, there seem to be no
standards for knowing which laws hold in what dimension. Which is more fundamental,
a r
-1
potential in higher dimensions (and thus stable orbits there) or Gauss law in higher
dimensions (and thus no stable orbits there). There is no scientific theory of this, and
only vague intuitions fill the vacuum.
Its useful to compare and contrast this case with the following example of an
explanation of a fundamental constant. The Russian quantum cosmologist Vilenkin
devises a theory that will explain why the speed of light is 300,000,000 meters/sec. How
does he do it? Briefly, he posits an ensemble of worlds, puts a probability metric over all
these worlds and then derives that most of these worlds have light traveling close to the
speed it travels here. Wildly speculative? Yes. Scratching an itch to explain that would
be better off unscratched? Yes. But despite these problems, Vilenkins explanation of c
is better than present explanations of n=3. For at least he is explicitly positing a theory in
which what we formerly took to be a fundamental constant is allowed to vary with world
and there are clear constraints on this. By contrast, Ehrenfest, Buchel, Barrow and
Tipler, Burgbacher et al, and so on, are implicitly offering theories of higher-dimensional
worlds wherein dimensionality is not a constant but a variable. Unlike Vilenkin,
however, they are not dressing up this theory with details; nor do they even acknowledge
that this is what they are up to. Without such theories developed, all we have are our
intuitions and various vague recipes for determining closeness to worlds.
8

8
Realists about a similarity metric among metaphysically possible but physically impossible worlds may
insist that there is still a fact of the matter about which world is closest to this one. In Lewis system there
presumably would be a fact of the matter at dispute between Ehrenfest and Burgbacher et al. But notice
that that metric is one weighting laws differently than matters of fact, so unless we could determine which
19
Burgbacher et al and Caruso and Xavier dont learn the lesson of their efforts. For after
criticizing the Ehrenfest-style argument, Burgbacher et al then claim to have proven by a
spectroscopic experiment that our space is three-dimensional (631) and Caruso and
Xavier claim that nuclear diffraction experiments imply that n 5. The idea is that the
atomic spectra and diffraction experiments, not stability, have implications for the
dimensionality of space. They fix Ehrenfests methodology by focusing solely on laws
that they believe do not show singular aspects concerning n=3. That is, they look for
laws that they believe are indifferent to the dimensionality of space, e.g., the laws of
classical thermodynamics. This way, as they see it, they do not build in the answer to
their question. Though ingenious, the argument falls to the same one used above against
Ehrenfest. Their argument is an improvement over Ehrenfests because they seek to use
laws and relationships that do not vary with dimension. But still, to get their conclusion,
some physics is of course used, some assumptions are made, and these assumptions may
not be legitimate in higher dimensions, e.g., Burgbachers assumption that in every
dimension the lowest series contains only transitions with l=k=0 or Caruso and Xaviers
assumption that classical thermodynamics is valid in all n. In the absence of a successful
theory that takes dimensionality to be variable, there is no way to know if these
assumptions are warranted.
Are there theories that might explain the number of dimensions? On the horizon there
may be. Arkani-Hamed, Cohen and Georgi, for instance, propose a dynamical theory of
dimension creation that would, I suppose, take dimensionality as something to be
appropriately explained via the dynamics of the physical processes. But such theories are
far too speculative to have much faith in today.
6. Conclusion: To What Questions are These Good Answers?
In the preceding sections I have been fairly critical of the stability argument, and by
implication, related argument for tri-dimensionality. But is this long history of ingenious
argument worthless? I dont believe so. The problem has just been that these proofs
have been answering the wrong question, namely, question (2) of section 5.2. There are
other questions lurking nearby, and the stable orbits type of argument may well be
relevant to answering them.
First and most obvious, these types of argument are part of the total evidence base needed
for answering question (1) of 5.2, the question of determining what in fact the number of
spacetime dimensions is. Noticing connections between various disparate phenomena is
the lifeblood of science. These connections will help us determine the overall best
systematization of the world, part of which is a commitment to a particular
dimensionality.
Second, suppose the overall best systematization of the world is one wherein the
dimensionality is not three but something higher. Suppose M-theory is correct and there
is the fundamental law we will likely be epistemically closed to the solution even if there is a fact of the
matter at issue.
20
are 11 spacetime dimensions, or suppose Albert is right and we live in high-dimensional
quantum configuration space. Then arguments like the ones were looking at might be
used in explaining why it still nonetheless seems to us that we live in three dimensions
rather than more. That would be to contribute to the question, given that we live in x
dimensions, why does it seem like we live in y dimensions? Alternativelybut related
we can think of these arguments as providing reasons why such extra dimension theorists
ought to be concerned still about three dimensions. These arguments provide some of the
explanation for why superstring theorists must devise compactification mechanisms in
the first place.
Arguably, a necessary condition of a new theory is that it explains or at least accounts for
the successes of the theory it succeeds. String theory must reduce, in the appropriate
regime, to something like classical gravitational theory. Arguably classical gravitational
theory and various other features of classical and quantum physics picks out n=3 as
special. Their proofs do not show that n actually is 3; but they do show that n=3 for a
particular less fundamental theory in a certain regime. Correspondence with that theory
therefore entails showing that string theory approximates that theory and its assumed 3-
dimensionality in a certain regime. As we move from below the Planck scale to the
quantum and classical scales, the stringy analog of matter better behave more and more
classically and its 10 dimensional space had better look more and more like 3 dimensions
to such matter.
Finally, lets conclude by returning to the instigator of this whole project, Kant. Why did
he think that the laws and forces determine the dimensionality and not vice versa? The
answer is that substances in the existing worldhave essential forces of such a kind that
they propagate their effects in union with each other according to the inverse-square
relations of the distances, [and] that the whole to which this gives rise has, by virtue of
this law, the property of being three-dimensional. The early Kant was a kind of spatial
relationist. He thought that substances and their forces were primary and that spatial
properties were derivative upon the relationships among the substances and their forces.
Modern-day relationists would instead treat relative particle distances at a time (or across
time) as what is basic in a relationist world. In either case, however, relationists owe us a
story about how the various spatiotemporal propertiese.g., orientability,
dimensionality, etcare grounded in the relationist base. A good stable orbits
argument can be viewed as a way of getting a topological feature of spacetime from
dynamical features of matter; hence such arguments may support relationist theories of
dimensionality.
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