A Circulatory Universe What happened to those extra dimensions? A concept, basic to string theory, holds that after the big bang, most of the eleven or more dimensions involved in it retreated and curled up somewhere leaving the four dimensioms of space and time to carry on the creation process. My idea, simply stated, is that these "Lost" dimensions form a vital part of the universe's driving engine and function in a specific way that makes the role and mechanics of gravity more comprehensible. What it postulates is that this central core, although it is "centrally placed" only in a hyper-dimensional way, upholds the four dimensional continuum by providing it with a constant supply of virtual hyper-particles much as the heart pumps blood through a living system. These particles though coming from a multidimensional manifold are recognized by us as normal four dimensional particles in our four dimensional world, but in fact belong to the central core and are in constant circulatory flux. Imagine them manifesting themselves as neutrons, running through matter but also in circulation, constantly returning to the substrate as they are being replaced by identical particles injected in a constant flow into our visible world. This idea allows for a new dynamic because two cycles involved. A feed and a return. Gravitational theories do not think of gravity as a dynamic system but more in terms of the effects of graviton particles. Let’s examine the two cycles in this dynamic. In the feed portion of the cycle, that is as these hyper particles emanate or are sweated from the hyperdimensional core, the electromagnetic force, strong, weak and other simply related forces are produced, whereas in the return process as these superdimensional particles return to their origin, gravity would be the effect. In realizing gravity to be associated with the opposite side of a bifold process it becomes easier to picture and perhaps quantify it. For example, if you picture these hyperparticles returning to the multidimensional substrate as water flowing down a bathtub drain, then gravity is like the effect we notice when associated bubbles collect into a concentrated foam. Gravitons held together with gluons are probably involved as moving agents. Although the "foam" of matter never actually disappears down the drain into the substrate ( it remains in the four dimensional continuum ) the tendency to do so results in what we experience as gravity. Gravity has always been one of the most difficult of natural phenomena to visualize. Newton thought it was like little hooks "grabbing" matter and pulling it in. Einstein saw it as the curvature of space-time forcing objects to respond to it. The new dynamic in a sense combines the two concepts and I think makes gravity much easier to visualize. But of course here again you have to allow for more than four dimensions which complicates the visualization process. I would greatly appreciate working on this idea with someone who can formulate field equations for it just to see if it checks out. How it meshes with string theory for example. If someone would like to do this please let me know. Herbert Yavel

hyavel@netscape.net