Dimension

A dimension, sometimes also referred to as a plane, (PROSE: Twilight of the Gods, TV: Time Heist) was a property of space, extending in a given direction, which, when combined with other dimensions of width and height and time, made up the universe.

Characteristics

There were countless billions of dimensions, some of them incomprehensibly different to N-Space. Beings from these distant dimensions obeyed very different laws of physics and were (presumably) forbidden to cross into other dimensions. Nobody No-One came from a reality 45 billion dimensions away from N-Space and was composed of language and communication instead of matter and energy. (AUDIO: The Word Lord)

The Sixth Doctor described there being trillions and trillions of alternate dimensions, some of which could be infinitesimally small micro-universes. (AUDIO: The Macros) However, the Seventh Doctor later commented that one billion cubic centimetres was small in terms of a dimension's size. (AUDIO: The Light at the End)

Time was often considered by humans to be the "fourth dimension" (TV: An Unearthly Child) and Vicki Pallister later elaborated that time, even though a dimension in itself, had dimensions of its own. The First Doctor even stated, in their adventure at the time, that he did not understand "this" fourth dimension. (TV: The Space Museum) Different universes possessed different time dimensions. Time moved faster in Kapron's universe, requiring metabolisms to be altered so as to prevent rapid aging when travelling to it from N-space. (AUDIO: The Macros)

According to the Twelfth Doctor, the Boneless were "from a universe with only two dimensions", although the Doctor also described them as "creatures from another dimension" and mentioned a way of sending them "back to their own dimension". People in N-Space, where three dimensions were required for life to survive there, had theorised such a universe's existence, but according to the Doctor, "no-one could go there and prove its existence without a heck of a diet". (TV: Flatline)

Terminology

"Dimension" was sometimes used interchangeably with "universe" or "plane."

The Elder Gods were said to have shunted themselves into a "parallel dimension" (PROSE: Millennial Rites) and a "parallel universe", (PROSE: All Consuming-Fire) although it makes sense that parallel universes would be made up of parallel dimensions, just as "pocket universe" and "pocket dimension" were interchanged. (AUDIO: Protect and Survive, TV: The Day of the Doctor, Death in Heaven)

Dimensions within the universe

Depending on perspective, the "normal" universe was variously described as being three dimensions, (AUDIO: Paradise 5) and five dimensions: three of space and two of time. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) Alternatively, while the three base dimensions made up "physical space," time was considered the fourth and space the fifth; (TV: An Unearthly Child) since space and time came into being at the same moment (AUDIO: The Forbidden Time) they were intrinsically linked, and often thought of as the combined space-time continuum, which had it's own "supporting dimensions." (AUDIO: The Hollows of Time)

In truth, the universe had eleven dimensions, (PROSE: Parasite) three of which were required to sustain life forms native to the universe such as humans and Time Lords. As the Twelfth Doctor theorised, "Perhaps [the Boneless didn't] even understand that we need[ed] three dimensions to live in." (TV: Flatline)

Other dimensions

Hyperspace was another dimension. (TV: The Stones of Blood) It could be reached using a black hole, which essentially collapsed dimensions into a singularity. (TV: The Horns of Nimon)

According to one account, a TARDIS' interior existed as a separate dimension from the rest of the universe. This meant the interior didn't exist, creating temporal grace. (TV: The Hand of Fear) Another account described TARDISes as being a part of the universe; the Tenth Doctor said that his TARDIS was "the last TARDIS in the universe". (TV: Rise of the Cybermen) According to another account, the Eleventh Doctor said that the Doctor telling Mels that the TARDIS existed in a state of temporal grace was "a clever lie" to ensure that Mels didn't fire her gun. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler) Nonetheless, the Eleventh Doctor also described the huge room inside the TARDIS which was surrounded by a tiny exterior as "basically another dimension". (TV: The Vampires of Venice) The external dimensions of the Doctor's TARDIS were leeched by the Boneless, making its exterior shell smaller but keeping the interior the same size. (TV: Flatline)

A location of space called the Arc of Infinity was known as an ancient curve between dimensions. (TV: Arc of Infinity)

N-Forms were constructs created by the Patrexes that were able to cross dimensions and exist in pocket dimensions of their own. (PROSE: Damaged Goods)

The Mavora existed in only the first two dimensions, and thus they were a completely flat shape and could slide between the atoms of the universe. (COMIC: The Broken Man)

The 2Dis was able to restore three dimensions to small objects the Boneless had flattened into two dimensions and reverse the process. After the Boneless took on a 3D form in N-Space, they had the ability to "restore" dimensions as well. (TV: Flatline)

E-Space was a small dimension connected to N-Space by the Logopolitans in an effort to delay the death of the universe from entropy. Access was through a Charged Vacuum Emboitment. The Fourth Doctor and Romana II stumbled through one such CVE. (TV: Full Circle) They found the Great Vampire hiding there. (TV: State of Decay)

According to Fenric, the Doctor trapped him in the Shadow Dimensions for seventeen centuries (TV: The Curse of Fenric) which were remnants of the pre-universe. (PROSE: The Curse of Fenric)

The Seventh Doctor claimed King Arthur's craft found in Lake Vortigern was from another dimension or parallel universe. (TV: Battlefield)

The Antiverse was a universe comprised of anti-time. Use of the Oubliette of Eternity would send people to this universe, turning them into Neverpeople. The Eighth Doctor and Romana II went there looking for the remains of Rassilon. (AUDIO: Neverland)

The Divergent Universe was a universe created by Rassilon to contain the Divergence, a race that would theoretically replace the Time Lords. The Eighth Doctor went there on a self-imposed exile. (AUDIO: Zagreus)

Jason Kane spent several years in a hell dimension. It was predominately rock. Tunnelling craft tunnelled their way between habitable areas. (PROSE: The Infernal Nexus)

According to the Tenth Doctor, the Morass was a dimension where time and space had been torn apart. (COMIC: The Crimson Hand)

The bubble universe was a universe outside of N-Space which could be accessed from N-Space via a space-time rift. (TV: The Doctor's Wife)

Species from different dimensions

• Transcendental beings, who existed in the higher dimensions such as...
  • The Guardians of Time
  • The Chronovores
  • The Eternals
• Spillagers (AUDIO: Winter for the Adept)
• Seven-dimensional Legions (PROSE: Lucifer Rising)
• Eight-dimensional Scourge (AUDIO: The Shadow of the Scourge)
• Good Daleks (AUDIO: Project Infinity)
• Neutron eaters (AUDIO: Lost Souls)
• Edgers (COMIC: On the Cards)
• The two-dimensional Boneless (TV: Flatline)