String Theory

1150 Words3 Pages

What is string theory and what does it mean for human kind? String theory is a theory that seeks to unify the four forces of nature and explain the origins of our universe. Before the string theory, it was impossible to combine the theories of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. By using tiny vibrating strings of energy that are 10-33 m in length, scientists can create all the fundamental particles we’ve started to find using particle accelerators. Then, using these particles they can try to unite the two different theories and create a universe that is perhaps, more perfect than the Standard Model will allow. And what’s great about string theory is that it explains more than just how gravity, electromagnetic force, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force work, but it also can make predictions about how our universe works, how the Big Bang formed and even possibly whether there are other unseen worlds that are right next to us! What this all means is that string theory just might explain things that General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics just can’t explain!

One thing that sort of sets string theory apart from other theories in science is its requirement of eleven different dimensions –– up, down, right, left, back, forth and time as well as seven other super small dimensions that humans cannot notice. An analogy to consider is a telephone line that is very far away. To a distant observer, the telephone line has one dimension (length) but in reality has many more (width, height, depth, clockwise and counterclockwise). This is important because it means that the strings can vibrate and move according to these overlapping dimensions and create different particles. This unification is a jewel in the minds of String Th...

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... of the fuss about the validity of string theory and the difficulty in proving it, there are many promising implications and applications of string theory –– among the most interesting is the possibility of higher universes and worm hole travel. String theory is also very mathematically sound, which makes it very likely that at least parts of it are valid and true. Though the fundamental part of string theory is vastly different than anything else in physics, the behavior and nature of objects larger than strings stays the same and that is what makes string theory so unobtrusive and perhaps welcome in the physics community. Despite its acceptance, string theory should also be known as a radical idea that unifies the universe’s matter and forces, explains the big bang and higher universes, and finally completes the quest for unification that is so pursued in physics.

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