String theory / M Theory

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String theory / M Theory

Postby krod on Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:38 pm

If you have no idea what string theory is click here: http://www.superstringtheory.com/

The string theory / M theory attempts to "unify" the 4 natural forces(gravity, electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong force). The basic concept of the theory is that the smallest particle, is a band of energy, called the vibrating string. According to string theory, absolutely everything in the universe; all of the particles that make up matter and forces is composed of tiny vibrating fundamental strings. And all these strings are identical!

Its a very controversial theory, a lot of its ideas seem more science fiction the actual science(the string theory predicts 11 dimensions!). The math worked out for this theory is truly amazing. However, math alone can not prove something. Sceptics say that you can do the math for something that doesn't exists, and it could still work out.
I am a sceptic of the string theory, I do believe that some of its ideas could be correct, but some of its ideas seem to far fetched.

Read more about the string theory @ http://www.superstringtheory.com/

What are you thoughts on the string theory?
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.-Thoreau
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Postby thebeast on Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:45 pm

I'm a little bad in math and physic so i can't say something but some theorys can be real. I've readed about dimensions a little hard to understand but i think it's one of the good theory.
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Postby al_tyranny on Mon Jan 16, 2006 7:45 pm

It seems plausible.

Looking around you, how often do you realize that your television, car, computer, food are made of atoms? These things are radically different on the super-level, but are identical on the atomic level.

Maybe there is superset to all these forces that they're made of.
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Postby snailian on Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:38 pm

I believe that string theory is mostly correct. I'm sure some time from now, we'll discover a theory that is a bit more "correct". We're always finding new quarks and particles, so to assume that we've got it 100% right this time, would be egotistical.
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Strings, 11 dimentions, etc

Postby dacapn on Mon Feb 13, 2006 11:21 am

I'd like to emphasize that a model in physics is usually nothing more than a mathematical representation. For things like this, we have no physical intuition about the system and can't truly fathom what happening, we can only construct a mathematical framework. Consider quantum mechanics... Electrons don't REALLY spin, they are a point particle, a point has no orientation. All we know is that they have a magnetic dipole, and that these dipoles move and that it works mathematically to treat them as spinning point particles. Similarly, the physicality of a vibrating string is very meaningless, it is simply an analogy to the mathematical framework being used.

I haven't studied string theory yet, but an aspect of this theory that I find plausible is that we don't appear to live in a 3 dimentional universe. Physically (again with the interpretations and intuitions) we can not fathom any more than 3 spatial dimentions, less is easy, more is impossible. Assuming you already know that the universe is expanding with no apparent center of dilation (all points appear to be the center of expansion)... Here is an example I use to illustrate this:

Living in 1D: You are a point (tough I suppose you could be a line segment too, but being called a "point person" has a good ring to it) on a line and so is everything else in the universe, but you can travel through objects so you're not trapped, don't worry... You are confined to ONLY move on that line, left or right. The universe expands just as I had explained before. Again, impossbile to picture.

Observing 1D from 2D: You are watching a bunch of point people on a line-shaped universe. You decide it would be fun to expand their universe, but not pick any particular point to expand about. You take the ends of their line and connect them, making a ring. Notice that they can't see the ring, objects are the same distance away to them and they can not fathom curvature. You then expand the ring and stretch it like a rubber band. Objects are farther away but still on the line and the point people can't seem to find the center of expansion of the unverse for it lies outside of their universe in another spatial dimention, the center of the ring!

To show that this holds for more spatial dimentions, I'll include a brief version of the classic example. This is in every book on physics that deals with such matters:

Imagine a bunch of circle people living on a large 2D rectangular plane, similarly to the point-people on the line. To expand this universe, we wrap the plane-universe around the surface of a balloon and blow it up. Once again we have a center of expansion outside of the 2D people's known universe.

I didn't intend to write a book but it sure came out that way... Here's hoping someone benefits from this...

DaCapn

(Edit: I suppose I should ammend this as it sounds as though I am incredibly in support of it. I have no personal opinion, but all of my professors seem to think it's outright nonsense, so I tend to side with them because I have a lot of confidence in their judgement.)
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Postby thanjee on Tue Feb 28, 2006 1:14 am

The Theory of Everything. Now that is something I would like to see (at least partially) resolved by the end of my lifetime.

I am still not sure about string theory, but the idea appeals to me as a musician. It certainly takes care of of the problem with unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity. Plus I like telling people that everything in the world is made out of string Smile

In the movie of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy it was extremely funny when the characters turned into woollen characters when using the Infinite Improbability Drive in the Heart of Gold. I also believe this was a nod to acknowledge String Theory.

On a serious note, In a musical context a piece of string can be used to create a whole range of different frequencies, depending on how tight the string is, and how thick it is,a nd how long it is. We already hypothesise the string is (How long is a piece of string??) the Planck length. Which as well as avoiding the quantum/relativity conundrum also reduces our variables for creating standing waves. It also explains the wave/particle duality nature of energy and matter, as a string is a particle, but it resonates as a wave. If everything is fundamentally a string, then everything must share this duality - which has been proven for the better part of a century (in the 1920s I believe...).

So I am pro-string, and I hope to begin doing my own research in this field within the next 2 or 3 years.
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Postby roogog on Sun Mar 26, 2006 10:10 am

[quote="thanjee"]The Theory of Everything. Now that is something I would like to see (at least partially) resolved by the end of my lifetime.

Oh so you don't really want much then Smile

I totally agree about the fact we live in a multi dimensional universe. And these dimensions are as hard for us to see as it would be for a 2d to see us. But we have the ability and the imagination to create machines that can see these other dimemnsions. Or at least catch a glimpse of them.

I imagine a 2d philosopher talking about the possibility of a third dimension using extremely complicated 2d maths and 2d physics to sceptical 2d citizens who can't quite get what he is saying. And even if they could understand they would never be able to feel it, live it. Unless he could invent a machine that warped the dimesnions - like a circle the little 2d test pilot would step into which would morph the dimesions to become a sphere that could travle freely through the mythical 3rd dimension. Would he i wonder dissapear from the view of his 2d collegues or would they still see his as they always had but he would come back with stories of how he was in another dimension he could see up, down and out - and would they belive him, after all if he didn't seem to do anything to them. Maybe he would come back mad, his tiny 2d brain frazzled by the complxity of the 3d world.
Or maybe his 2d mind would have the power and ability to take in, at least a tiny fragment, of the possiblities available. Even so it would be a universe they could only think and dream about, Stuck in their 2d bodies they could never hope to live in any other dimension. Unless of course they dispensed with the need of physical bodies and became pure thought...or developed 3d bio suits Wink
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