Posted on 12/24/2018 11:31:25 AM PST by ETL
String Ping!
I was told that gravity is just a statistic ... but I don’t want to test it.
What is it that gives the String Theory its name?
“Gravity is mathematically relatable to dynamics of subatomic particles”
I KNEW IT!!!! /s
Tim Whitwell is a research engineer who works in Hong Kong. He uses his physics knowledge to tackle acoustics, electromagnetic design and mechanics. He was a resident expert on Big Bang Blogs for a month, and school pupils had the chance to ask him some questions about his life, the universe and everything.
What is string theory?
One of the goals of Physics is to find a single theory that unites all of the four forces of nature. These are; electromagnetism, gravity, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. The first two are familiar. Electromagnetism is the force that holds a fridge magnet to a refrigerator while gravity is trying to pull it off towards the earth.
The strong nuclear force is responsible for holding the central part of atoms (their nuclei) together, while the weak nuclear force is involved in the decay of these nuclei.
In the attempt to tie all the four forces together a lot of interesting ideas and new theories have been proposed. One of the most promising of these new theories is string theory. In attempting to unite gravity with the three other forces, string theory requires us to change the way we view the universe.
According to the theory all particles are actually tiny vibrating strings and each type of vibration corresponds to a different particle. The different particles are like the different notes that can be played by bowing a violin string. However, the strings of string theory almost certainly would not look like violin strings.
String theory also requires us to accept the existence of extra dimensions in the universe. We are familiar with the four usual dimensions: up-down, forwards-backwards, left-right and time, but string theory requires seven more dimensions!
A universe of eleven dimensions seems strange to us but many physicists think these extra dimensions are possible and are looking for ways to detect them.
The attempt to unify the 4 forces of nature is one of the most exciting areas of physics and I hope to be around if this is successful, whether it is string theory or some other candidate that is successful. On the other hand there is the possibility that no single, theory exists that can describe all the forces of nature in a neat and tidy way as we would like.
Whatever the outcome, scientists from all over the world will continue working together to discover what could be the ultimate theory of everything.
I guess that’s an unfair question from a layman. I’d probably need a solid grounding physics to appreciate the answer.
Wikipedia tells me that the theory describes one-dimensional points in space as “strings.” If there’s an easily understood answer, why is it called a string? What’s “stringy” about them?
Many thanks, ETL! I should have waited for your answer before parsing my question!
I was just on the cusp of proving my unification theorem until I ran across unobtainium which blew it all to smithereens.
I first went for the String Theory and made some startling discoveries with it until my cat got ahold of it . . . I think it may be under the couch or in its playhouse thingy.
I knew it was a too good to be true “breakthrough” when I first saw “string”.
When humans or human made hard-physical-technology actually brings back empirical evidence of a “fifth” or “X” dimension at the as-we-know-it-physical level, then and only then will “string theory” rank a “proof” and its use beyond some wholely theoretical mathematics be warranted.
Electro-plasma-magnetisim, not going to get too far if you leave out one of the phases...
Is there observational proof? Or is this math on a white board that is often proven wrong by the next calculation. I thought string theory was a dead end.
So, physicists now know what gravity is? Is that the point?
When humans or human made hard-physical-technology actually brings back empirical evidence of a “fifth” or “X” dimension at the as-we-know-it-physical level, then and only then will “string theory” rank a “proof” and its use beyond some wholely theoretical mathematics be warranted.
+++++
I’m no String Theory fan or expert. But the idea of a fifth dimension (just a number) that holds the value of the curvature of space or space-time at a given point in time and space sounds good to me.
This just has to be true if space is curved and it is and the curvature is not constant.
This idea apparently precedes String Theory - I think.
tl;dr, though lord knows I tried.
No. But some might THINK they know.
Sounds like all math. And it requires an additional “dimension” in order for the equations to balance.
string
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