can someone please explain
2007-01-09 07:08:39 · 7 answers · asked by Mighty Opinions 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
String Theory is the assertion that the basic building block of everything in the universe is not a particle, but a string. These strings resonate at specific frequencies and it is the reflection of their resonating that we see as the different particles, e.g. electrons, photons, protons, etc. These strings are stretched throughout the entire universe and its various dimensions.
Don't worry if it doesn't make much sense. It's a very strange concept. Think of a guitar. When you hold your finger down on a fret and pluck a string, you get a note. Then, when you move your finger up or down the fretboard and pluck, you get a different note. Each different note is a different particle in the universe.
The reason the string theory exists is to explain certain phenomena that happens at the subatomic level. It is also an attempt to unify all phenomena in the universe through one theory. The idea is that if these strings represent particles, then they must also show how gravity works, and how electromagnetic forces work, among other things.
There is a fatal problem with string theory, however. It is not technically a theory. It is a hypothesis. There are no experiments to determine whether it exists. It is not falsifiable, meaning that there are no logical counterexamples. And example of falsifiability: if I make the claim that "all sharks live in the ocean," you could prove me wrong by producing a shark that does not live in the ocean. Even though such a creature may not exist, just the possibility that it could exist and be produced as tangible evidence allows my claim to be tested, which in turn makes it a proper scientific theory. On the other side of this, the "theory" of intelligent design is not a theory as it is not falsifiable. There is no experiment that could be conceived to test it.
2007-01-09 08:03:36 · answer #1 · answered by abulafia24 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The authority on StringTheory is a man named Brian Greene who wrote the book "Elegant Universe." String Theory suggests that the fundamental particle is a one-dimensional "string" that vibrates in an infinite number of modes. Each mode locks the "string" into its future as a sub-atomic particle, such as a boson or a quark. String theory also relies on the assumption that the universe exists in 11 dimensions. It has the ability to "postdict" facts. That is, explain events that have already happened. It can not, however, currently predict things.
2007-01-09 15:17:01 · answer #2 · answered by Brad C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
String theory is a model of fundamental physics whose building blocks are one-dimensional extended objects (strings) rather than the zero-dimensional points (particles) that are the basis of the Standard Model of particle physics
Moreover, string theory appears to be able to "unify" the known natural forces (gravitational, electromagnetic, weak and strong) by describing them with the same set of equations.
2007-01-09 15:15:46 · answer #3 · answered by M Series 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a theory that recites the existence of the Universe as a make of strings that vibrate at varying frequencies to distinguish themselves.
2007-01-09 15:46:28 · answer #4 · answered by Qyn 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
String theory is a not too popular model of the universe.
We live in a quantum universe and to parlay looped strings into quanta is not too easy to do.
2007-01-10 10:19:01 · answer #5 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is believed everything is composed of very small vibrating strings of energy. PBS used to have this on the web site. I think it is The Elegant Universe.
2007-01-09 15:14:10 · answer #6 · answered by RB 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i would recommend a great book that explains everything really easily: Brian Green(e)'s The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality...(sequel to Elegant Universe with more info)
2007-01-09 16:00:44 · answer #7 · answered by izaboe 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋