July 16th, 2006, 07:10 PM
This should probably be in pseudoscience but, I wanted to get opinions from physicists (that is a crazy word).
What is string theory?
As far as I can tell it has something to do with making a system that can explain the macro and the micro world. If I am correct quantum mechanics already does this.
What do strings have to do with anything?? I makes no sense to me. :?
string theory says all matter is made up of small string, and their vibrational pattern determines the type of particle it is. it also combines quantum mechanics and general relativity together because before garvity was just too weak when compared to the other forces, but string theory says that gravity is soo weak because it escapes to other dimensions. there is a lot more too it though ull have to read abt it, its quite interesting.
I guess it just doesn't seem to have any origin. What I mean is... who came up with strings? Why isn't it line theory or happy theory. What do strings have to do with anything? Is there any evidence of these vibrations? Quantum mechanics is named so because it deals with single quantum. Nothing is smaller than quantum particles, so where do these strings fit in???? :? :? :?
im not sure of the exact details but some mathematician came up with some equation ages ago and some one picked it up in the 1970s and it seemed to combine general realtivity and quantum mechanics and from there is developed, and it has to be strings for the theory to work, in other words strings are actually the most fundamental unit according to this theory. this offcourse hasnt been proven because out technology isnt good enough at the moment but the theory also predicts the exsistance of some new particle which many particle accelerators are trying to find, but i dont think they hav had any luck yet.
Correct, there is no origin to this theory.Originally Posted by DaBOB
Since there was no origin to this theory, as you correctly noted, someone decided that a six letter name would be fun. Your names, line and happy theory, are four and five letters, and were ruled out for that reason only.Why isn't it line theory or happy theory. What do strings have to do with anything?
Probably not, don't you think? Why would someone need any evidence to come up with a scientific theory that many people think is interesting?Is there any evidence of these vibrations?
"Single quanta" is cute. Where did you think this one up?Quantum mechanics is named so because it deals with single quanta.
haha oops single quantum. For example, photons, electrons, etc.
*Edits previous post*
Are you messing with me or are you as confused about the purpose of this theory as I am?
I was just messing with you. I heard Murray Gell-Mann lecture on it at Cal-Tec 10 years or so ago, and since then I have read books. I recommend that you read books or check the Internet.
OK, ok, I'll look it up on my own. If anyone wants to help me understand the point of this "string" theory, and can without writing a book, please share.
Well one simple way of looking at string theory is that point particles and the interaction between particles at a point in quantum field theory tended to make the equations blow up as in singularities, like when you look at the function f(x)=1/x when x approaches zero. Therefore making the fundamental elements of existence extended strings rather than point particles made a lot of these mathematical problems go away.
Now for a while the biggest problem with string theory was that it was theories not theory. There were too many string theories. So a more recent breakthrough (called M-theory) was the realization that all these different string theories could made into different derivations of a single theory (and therefore equivalent) that treats the fundamental elements of existence as extended object of any number of dimensions, called branes. So for example a string would be called a 1-brane, that is a one dimensional brane, while a point particle would be a 0-brane. Now as I understand it, the inclusion of the 0-brane does not re-introduce the problem with singularities because of a principle of dualism, which makes a p dimensional brane in an n dimensional space equivalent (under some transformation of the field equations) to a n-p dimensional brane.
how to ever know if matter is just like a rolled up piece of wol? We have no way of ever seeing the strings nor being able to detect them on other ways. Speed combined with matter may result in a sting of particles (on detection).
wasn't string theory that also combined the 3 types of energy together.. that all strings are kinetic/atomic/electromagnetic energy's??
I read some of the stuff at http://superstringtheory.com/ I thought it was pretty well done and has taught me everything I know on the subject..
Half is right. It does not combine the both but tries to combine the quantum mechanics and relativity.If you want more info try Popsci.com and search for a article "journey to the tenth dimension"
String theory is a theory that attempts to unify the incompatibility between general relativity and quantum mechanics. One way that it does this is that it replaces the concept of matter as point particles with the notion of 1 (or more) dimensional oscillating strings. While this theory has had extreme experimental successes, it is very complex, too complex even for its developers to do more than create ever closer approximations. String theory requires the existence of 10, or 11, dimensions, for example.
it need 11
No, you may be remembering supergravity which was an attempt at a unified field theory based on extending general relativity to 11 dimensions. This theory was abandoned after confronting some insolvable mathematical problems and afterward a proof was discovered that the number of space-time dimensions could not be 11 dimensions.
For a while there was several different string theories and it was uncertain wheter there were 10 or 26 dimensions of space-time. But when M-theory (the theory of p-dimensional branes) united all the strings theories the question was finally resolved. String theory in the form of M-theory now absolutely predicts that space-time has 10 dimensions - 1 dimension of time, 3 extended dimensions of space, and 6 dimensions which are extremely small (much smaller than an atom).
Strings have no yin and yang, they are very different from any other theory. Plus we have used our knoledge of quantum machanics in technology. String theory has no aplication as far as I know.
I just can't see how someone could think of this or how it could possibly make sense with the rest of what we know about the world.
Besides the solution tot he mathematical problems which have plagued other attempts at string theory, the theory explains that all the different types of particles are simply the vibrational modes of these strings (and other dimensional branes). It is not about application or philosophical understandings like yin and yang, it is the holy grail of physics to capture all the essential aspect of physical reality in a single mathematical model. It makes the same sense as all the physics which we already have now for it reproduces all of that physics under the special conditions where that physics functions. But with a unified field theory we can go beyond those limitations to understand the physics that applies under other conditions (at higher energies and closer to the beginning of the big bang).
with it they can even go back BEFORE big bang
:? no idea what you meant by that... before big bang?? was that talk about time travel :?
no, it simply says that string theory can predict how it were before big bang, before the bang that gave us the universe we have now
As to that, who knows. But scientists do not have a great deal of hope for that. In fact, I think we would already see signs of it in string theory if it was going to offer something like that.
they have much hope, but it cant of course tell us how the universe before with the position of galaxies but it would have about the same laws of physics and such if string theory is correct when nit comes to big bang
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