Is it a circle, or a line? (Portal question)

[wastedyouth89]

Technically you could say that one end is attached to the other, therefore making it a circle. If you put a starting point at some area of the rope and moved your hand from that point, it would eventually get back to it without ever leaving the rope. So it is a circle, but looking at it makes it look infinitely straight.

 

[Kjakings]

Bringing my previous rope-going-around-the-earth diagram up again, surely if you did that then the tension would be enough to keep it afloat? Gravity is pretty weak, you can break it by jumping. We only send shuttles up with such ridiculous force because you need sustained force, and it's a hella long way up. So, if the portals cut out the rest of the Earth, that tension would still be enough.

 

[Twilight_guy]

It's a line. If we stood in one portal and looked at the rope we'd see a perfectly straight line extending forever. We would need to see a curve for it be a circle. Now if the portal walls were not parallel then we would have a polygon with angles of 180 minus the angles between the walls.

Now you're think with portals!

 

[Madara XIII]

A line that you've tied two ends together since you happened to have a portal Device handy.

Wait a second, what's holding it up?

Calumon: I dunno. Wanna go and find out? I heard they have cake!

For shame... I made a Cake Joke.

Mmmm sounds delicious......WAIT!!!

CALUMON NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Don't go!!!

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

Buggered if I know... ask GLaDOS.

 

[nuba km]

snip

snip

it is a circle. why? symbol the earth has a curved surface meaning that the line (i don't know how it is being held up) will be had a slight curve meaning if you go for long enough it is a circle.

 

[Iron Lightning]

It's a line that extends infinitely through virtual space. It's also a loop, but not a circle.

 

[Madara XIII]

well in this dimension its a line, through the dimensionS its a circle.

Wait a second, what's holding it up?

What IS holding it up?

"My belt holds my pants up, but my belt loops hold my belt up. Who's the real hero here?" - Mitch Hedberg

You are full of win for quoting Mitch XD

 

[chris11246]

If you consider that the portal is bending space then the rope is a circle. You just cant see it because you're looking at it from non bent space.

 

[Imp Poster]

It's neither. The string broke so I tied the knot on my:

 

[Vykrel]

Wait a second, what's holding it up?

exactly... the rope needs something to be secured to, so the picture makes even less sense

 

[Kjakings]

We don't know if the tension alone would be enough to hold it up. like when you wrap a towel tightly around yourself. It's not attached to anything per se, but it is definitely staying up. Such is the same with this rope.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

For those arguing that 'looking straight down the string, through the portals' renders a line:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_feedback

The reason it cannot be a line is that an observer would self-observe in the act of observation of the supposed line, which is itself a paradox (a logical 'loop').

However, it cannot be a circle either. Every circle must have 2 dimensions (or more in special cases), yet only one can be measured in this system - even if you forgive the observer paradox.

Additional dimensions are required to describe the object in observable space, and it is therefore neither a line nor a circle. Alternatively, we may assume non-Euclidean space, which can then describe the object as either a line or a circle, while simultaneously causing everyone's head to explode.

So... I'd say it's a single point in an unobservable dimension.

 

[The_ModeRazor]

Hmmm. Maybe a looping segment? Yeah, that could work.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The equation of a circle is essentially that of a line that comprises the perimeter of the circle for one period of that function.

Therefore, it's both a line and a circle, using the length of the line as one period of the function, and assuming it goes on forever.

 

[Sharpsky]

Another question:

If you had a portal on two surfaces, and then put those two surfaces face-to-face, would the portals create an infinite space between the two pressed-together objects, or would it create some kind of...ugh..I don't know, it hurts my head

(I know the Portal portals don't have this problem, but theoretically what's gonna happen?)

You know, I walk in to this thread, I can see whats going on with the rope pretty clearly in my head, so I start to feel good. And then. . . .. there's this.

Edit: And for the record, I think you'd end up squished as if the portals hadn't even been there.

 

[Winthrop]

There is no word for it.

Points are one dimensional (collinear). Lines, circles, and loops are all 2 dimensional (coplanar). In 3 dimensions they are planes, spheres, and ellipsoids (I don't know the word but something like cospacious). Portals, as I understand them, occupy a fourth dimension which we can not graph and as such have not named. As points are placed on a line, lines in a plane, and planes in a space, then spaces would be a figure in the forth dimension. As the planes this figure reside on are not cospacious, it can not be named in the first, second or third dimension. That said I would call it the forth dimension equivalent of a point, line, or plane.

 

[Lullabye]

It's a line!
And there are monsters playing a transdimensional game of "tug-o-war". That's what's holding it up.

 

[Kjakings]

What if you did this?

It is quite clearly colour coded; I did it in 3 seconds in paint and didn't feel the need to add labels.

 

[DeadEy3]

If there is even a slight change of angle between the portals... you have made a circle... otherwise if perfect, it is a line.