this should be interesting

 

I was watching something on PBS today about Quantum Mechanics. It was really well done but left me with a lot of questions. Still, from what I can tell even the most knowledgable person re: QM must have tons of unresolved questions, so let me just throw this one out there hoping there's a physic inclined person who can throw me in the right direction:

 

 

What is string theory?

I need an explanation.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

i think i might have an idea, but it could also be completely wrong so i'm going to look it up before i make a huge fool out of myself. :rolleyes:

 

i don't really have much more than a basic understanding of the concept, so i really have no business posting in this thread at all. :lol:

I think you have as much business as I do.

I couldn't tell you anything more about this topic than explaining the idea of a Strong and/or Weak nuclear force.

 

But I'm hoping I learn something kool.

i'm going to bookmark this and try to read it some time when it isn't 2 am. :rolleyes:

 

i hope it helps.

 

http://samvak.tripod.com/string02.html

So ... it looks like String Theory is the first cogent attempt at a unified theory? Is that an over simplification?

 

I didn't read the whole site ... I will, though. This is so interesting.

I probably need to get a book.

string theory :huh:

String Theory. Last I heard about it, there was going to be a conference of Theoritcal Physicists in Mumbai (Bombay), with eminent persons attending; apparently, some group in India had made a breakthrough on this theory.

 

Yep, it is supposedly "the" Unified Theory, explaining all the natural laws in one elegant (yeah right! haha) equation. that's the holy grail for folks dreaming up theories. But, it's still a theory. It also has a lot to do with stuff like answering the question of the origin of our Universe.

 

What is String Theory?

String theory is currently the most promising candidate for a unified theory of the fundamental particles and forces which underlie all physical phenomena.

 

In string theory all elementary particles, such as electrons, photons, neutrinos and quarks, arise as different excitations of a single elementary string.

 

Gravity, electromagnetism, weak and strong nuclear interactions, which underlie all natural phenomena, are unified into a very tightly constrained, elegant and compelling theoretical framework.

 

String Theory promises to realize Einstein's dream of a Unified Theory of all forces in nature.

 

It provides, for the first time, a mathematically consistent formalism that combines the two pillars of twentieth-century physics: Quantum Theory and the General Theory of Relativity.

 

It has profound implications for some long-standing puzzles in physics, such as the nature of black holes and the origin of the universe.

 

If String Theory is eventually verified in experiments, it will revolutionize our conception of the structure of matter, space, and time.

Oh Ya! I know about this. Its the theory that humans and ultimately everything(i think) is made out of little strings vibrating at different frequency. they said that stars are also made out of these strings. Thats about the extent of my knowledge. THat would explain why people like music.

OK ... so this heory HAS yielded working model? Actual equation by which general relativity can be reconcileds with quantum theory? wow.

 

how long as this been around? is this something that has developed in the last ten years?

 

String Theory. Last I heard about it, there was going to be a conference of Theoritcal Physicists in Mumbai (Bombay), with eminent persons attending; apparently, some group in India had made a breakthrough on this theory.

 

Yep, it is supposedly "the" Unified Theory, explaining all the natural laws in one elegant (yeah right! haha) equation. that's the holy grail for folks dreaming up theories. But, it's still a theory. It also has a lot to do with stuff like answering the question of the origin of our Universe.

 

What is String Theory?

String theory is currently the most promising candidate for a unified theory of the fundamental particles and forces which underlie all physical phenomena.

 

In string theory all elementary particles, such as electrons, photons, neutrinos and quarks, arise as different excitations of a single elementary string.

 

Gravity, electromagnetism, weak and strong nuclear interactions, which underlie all natural phenomena, are unified into a very tightly constrained, elegant and compelling theoretical framework.

 

String Theory promises to realize Einstein's dream of a Unified Theory of all forces in nature.

 

It provides, for the first time, a mathematically consistent formalism that combines the two pillars of twentieth-century physics: Quantum Theory and the General Theory of Relativity.

 

It has profound implications for some long-standing puzzles in physics, such as the nature of black holes and the origin of the universe.

 

If String Theory is eventually verified in experiments, it will revolutionize our conception of the structure of matter, space, and time.

still a WIP.....

 

 

 

.... work in progress. :)

work finished for christmas :lol:

Is there anything anybody can recommend to me (if your a student, maybe the textbook you're using for your course) that can provide some insight?

I read The Universe in a Nutshell, or whatever you spell that word in english, and it was good.

If the universe is composed of strings, then is time merely gravity plucking on those strings?:P What other universes might be possible with different constants? Test at 1:30. Correct answers will be awarded a prize in Stockholm from Alfred Nobel's Trust.

If Einstein said that "God does not play dice with the Universe", and let's assume for arguments sake he's right, then what is probability? Randomness?

I've pondered this, but what do you think?? (my best guess is that perhaps a phenomenon like Entropy drives the universe, and adding more states (possibilities) to things propels the process onward.. and what we see as "random" is merely greater numbers of states that have some formula, being of ever increasing complexity..)

"I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence."

 

 

From my favorite movie.

 

 

 

 

 

:laugh3:Wonderful quote! But then, what explains probability? Quantum Mechanics?

I've seen that nova program before... Very interesting.

Yes, I've seen it quite a number of times too - an excellent program! - but I can't recall if anyone answered the question of what is randomness. It's a big part of quantum mechanics, yet really, it's something we've just accepted without much insight - the concept is simple, but in reality, it must have a deeper meaning..

Maybe 42? :>

This stuff is too complicated for me. I tried reading this physics allegory, but I still had no damn clue what any of it meant.