String Theory
The Theory of Everything with Plenty of Strings Attached
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”--- Max Planck
Theory of everything (TOE) is capable of describing the entirety of the known universe and all its known physical phenomena with a single mathematical framework. String theory is the most high-profile contender recognized for this proposed, hypothetical TOE.
A brief understanding of the following needs to be established before explaining String Theory in detail-
Currently, physicists are limited to using two frameworks. General relativity, created by Albert Einstein, describes the physics of the tremendously big, and Quantum theory, accurately describes the physics of the extremely small. The issue is that the two premises don’t coincide.
Gravity is the root cause of the issue. It’s the only one of the four fundamental forces of nature (electromagnetism, weak and strong nuclear force being the other three) described by general relativity and the only one that quantum theory is unable to address. Theoretical physicists have tenaciously dreamed of a model that ties up all four forces in one neat, cohesive package.
String theory claims to make that dream a reality.
General Relativity
Developed by Albert Einstein, in essence, is a theory of gravity. The fundamental assumption is that gravity is a curving or warping of space rather than an invisible force that draws items together. The more massive an object, the more it warps the space around it. For example, a bit like the way a heavy ball resting on a rubber sheet warps the sheet.
This warping also affects measurements of time. We tend to think of time as ticking away at a steady rate. But just as gravity can stretch or warp space, it can also dilate time.
Not to be confused with Special Relativity (e=mc²), which applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity whereas,
general relativity explains the law of gravitation and its relation to the forces of nature.
Quantum Theory
Explains the nature and behavior of matter and energy on the atomic and subatomic level, describes the smallest things in our universe like molecules, atoms, electrons, protons, neutrons, etc. as abstract mathematical waves. Quanta means discrete packets of energy.
In short, quantum theory describes objects as wave functions, but when we measure them, we see particles, which point to matter’s duality. Consequences of these wave functions and quantum phenomena are Superposition, Entanglement, Tunneling, and Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle which outline Quantum Physics.
Dimensions
We all are cognizant of the 3 dimensions, and my last article (Time Crystal) established the 4th dimension of time. While on the local level, we are trained to think of space as limited to having three dimensions, general relativity paints a picture of a four-dimensional universe, and string theory declares it has 10 dimensions. Some even go as far as to say that, there are variations of the theory in 26 dimensions, and recently pure mathematicians have been electrified by a version describing spaces of 24 dimensions.
According to Superstring Theory-
- The fifth and sixth dimensions are where the notion of possible worlds arises.
- In the seventh dimension, you have access to the possible worlds that start with different initial conditions.
- The eighth dimension again gives us a plane of such possible universe histories.
- In the ninth dimension, we can compare all the possible universe histories.
- In the tenth and final dimension, we arrive at the point in which everything possible and imaginable is covered.
Standard Model of Physics
Everything in the cosmos is composed of a small number of elementary particles, the building blocks of matter. You might have guessed it already…
No, they are not molecules or atoms, neither are they neutrons, electrons nor protons. These particles occur in two basic types called quarks (which make up protons and neutrons) and leptons (which include electrons), which are regulated by four fundamental forces. There’s also a third type, the force-carrying particles, called bosons.
The Standard Model explains three of the four fundamental forces that govern the universe: electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force. It explains how particles like quarks and leptons make up all known matter and how bosons, influence the quarks and leptons.
So scientists and physicists could just call it a day, as the Standard Model is the best elucidation of the subatomic world, but that is where gravity comes knocking down their doors.
After learning about so many discrete theories of diverging scales, You might ask-
How to incorporate gravity into all this? Is there anything smaller than a Quark?
Precisely, this is where the String Theory steps in!
String Theory
Definition-
Conventional thinking states that there is nothing inside a quark,
yet String theory supposes that a little, tiny filament-like structure of energy or string, which when vibrates in different orientations produces the particles themselves — just like a violin string vibrating differently can play you different notes — A string can give you different particles. These vibrations produce effects that we interpret as atoms, electrons, and quarks. Electrons, neutrinos, etc. are all elementary particles that are just strings vibrating in distinct patterns.
So deep inside every matter, is a cosmic vibrating symphony of strings.
Condition, Constrain and Collapse
String theory has to make one radical assumption. Instead of living in a universe with three dimensions of space and one of time, we live in one with either 9, 10, or 25 dimensions of space. These extra dimensions are then curled up so tightly that we don’t notice them — much like a silken thread appears one-dimensional until you get close enough to notice its width.
This radical requirement of 10 dimensions, is a condition that constrains the theory. The very reason that it doesn’t work in our universe of 3 spatial and 1 temporal dimension has led to its collapse in the world of experimental physics. Initially, to work out the math and develop fruitful predictions while producing definite equations, Physicists did calculations in model universes and then tried to get rid of the 6 additional dimensions, but it didn’t pan out and in the end, all efforts were futile.
“String theorists propose a seemingly endless amount of mathematical constructions that have no known relationship to observation,” Sabine Hossenfelder, a physicist at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies in Germany who has been critical of string theory, previously told Live Science.
Merits and What does the Future hold for String Theory?
Even though it was ineffective in its attempt to unify the two theories of General Relativity and Quantum Physics, it gave us a fundamental understanding of quantum gravity and how black holes work and there is a lot of scope, encouraging strives for a TOE in the future.
Physics is based on mathematics, and the math of the String Theory clearly worked out, providing unimaginable advancements in varied fields of science.
Some researchers maintain that string theory will one day turn up results, with upgrades currently being conducted, the Large Hadron Collider could yield evidence of string theory in the near future.
But the theory’s ultimate fate is, as yet, unknown.
Thank You for reading! What do you think, what lies ahead of us, leave a comment below describing, how you think this strange theory can still impact our present and change our future.
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Inspired by Ojas Agarwal
Written By Arsh Mishra
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