Question: Do you agree with the possibility of other dimensions too minute for a human to see or detect? If so, what is your opinion on investing masses of money for the (equally minute however extremely beneficial) possibility of deriving energy from these dimensions?

Susan Cartwright answered on 20 Jun 2015:

The existence of other dimensions is possible, but so far there is zero evidence either way. I’m not a big fan of untestable hypotheses. The LHC might see some evidence if the extra dimensions are substantially bigger than their natural size (the Planck length), but I’m not holding my breath on that. Though they should certainly look. Not expecting to find something is no excuse for not looking for it – the greatest discoveries come from following up on the unexpected.

I would certainly *not* advocate investing money on getting energy out of extra dimensions. There’s no reason to believe that there’s any to be got – the whole point of the extra dimensions compactifying into minute closed loops is that it’s a low-energy configuration.

We can solve our energy problems by mundane means. Better (more efficient and cheaper) solar panels, backed up (this is the key technology) by efficient, affordable, high-capacity storage technology – basically, better batteries – and in the short to medium term by a range of other power sources from wind to nuclear, and coupled with less power-hungry technology and better-designed housing, will do the job. We don’t need to throw money at hypothetical concepts that probably wouldn’t deliver even if they did exist.