Supersymmetry

and hypercomplex numbers

The fractals we studied in class were on a two-dimensional plane, using a real and an imaginary axis. They were made from complex numbers. This world is considered to be 3d because it can be described with three axes (height, width, and depth, also known as x, y, and z).  But what about an imaginary axis, couldn't that make ours a fourth dimension?

 "Supersymmetry is an idea that has been around for decades. It states that every boson has an associated fermion and vice-versa. So a quark, which is a fermion, has a supersymmetric imaginary partner called a squark, which is a boson. Likewise a photon, which is a boson, is teamed up with the photino, a fermion. None of the proposed supersymmetric particles have ever been detected. Scientists say this is because current particle accelerators are just not powerful enough. Science knows that these imaginary components MUST exist, but will never be able to detect/isolate them with the current methods, for the simple reason that they are imaginary. Note that the term 'imaginary' is a mathematical term and does NOT mean 'non-existent'. Any form of matter interpreted in our space-time dimension can be mathematically expressed as a complex (Complex = Re+Im) function of space and time. Lately, some evidence that supersymmetry is real may have emerged from a study of gold and platinum atoms. Teams from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and the University of Kentucky in the United States have used the Tandem accelerator in Munich to bombard gold atoms with sub-atomic particles. The results of the interactions between the targets and the projectiles, they say, can only be explained by supersymmetry. This is the way to go, since we can only observe these imaginary particles through the motion of the real part." Blazelabs

 "Supersymmetry: A theory which unifies bosons and fermions. Every known particle would be paired with a 'superpartner' of the opposite type (boson vs. fermions). The major goal of the newest high energy accelerators is to discover these superpartners and to find evidence for supersymmetry. It is an essential ingredient in realistic string theory models, hence the 'super' in 'superstring'." Superstrings Glossary

Alright, so supersymmetry's not *exactly* proven yet, work with me here. If it takes two things to make a whole, can't the two be considered one? That's kind of like a pair of shoes, right? We consider the pair one thing even though it's made up of two shoes. So, can't a pair of a fermion and boson be considered one thing? One of the particles would be three dimensional. It could be described using three axes. The other part of the pair is also imaginary. It would need another axis to be described. It would need the three axes we are familiar with and also an imaginary axis. The imaginary part of the particle pair is four dimensional. You would need more than just a plain old complex number. You would need a hypercomplex number! (No, I'm not making stuff up, yet) You're dealing with four dimensions with supersymmetry, and if some of our particles really are supersymmetric, imagine how close that fourth dimension is.