What is String Theory?
String theory is a particle physics theory that attempts to merge the general theory of relativity of Einstein with quantum mechanics. The name comes from the modeling of the subatomic particles in a manner that shows them as small one-dimensional entities that are ‘stringlike’, instead of the usual approach where they are zero-dimensional. This is a theory that envisions a string undergoing a specific vibration that corresponds with a particle that has properties that are definitive like charge and mass.
Brief on String Theory
Here is a more simplified version of the theory that is also known as the ‘theory of everything’ and it includes concepts like extra dimensions, superstrings, and branes. Scientists believe that this is a theory that will explain one of the biggest mysteries of how the universe works, which is how quantum physics and gravity fit together.
Since string theory is a work in progress it can be a little difficult to understand what it's fundamentals are, but below are some of its key features.
All the objects that exist in the universe are made of membranes (branes) of energy and vibrating filaments (strings).
This is a theory that attempts to merge quantum physics and general relativity.
Several dimensions to the universe exist but are yet unobservable.
The String Theory PDFs on the site are freely available if you want to do some in-depth research and gain a scientific understanding of how this theory actually works and what it does.
(Image will be uploaded soon)
Who Invented the String Theory?
Physicists in the 1980s realized that string theory could possibly incorporate four forces of nature, that is weak force, strong force, electromagnetism, and gravity, and all types of matter in one quantum mechanical framework, and this could perhaps be the unified field theory. This is an area of research that is developing rapidly, but it is mostly a mathematical construct without having made any experimental observations.
It has a long history since then with numerous physicists that have worked on this theory. However, Leonard Susskind is said to be one of the fathers of string theory who introduced the idea that particles could be vibrating filaments along with Holger Bech Nielsen and Yoichiro Nambu. He was also the first to bring the string theory landscape in the year 2003.
Albert Einstein spoke of a ‘God equation’ that could explain how the universe works. However, this string theory equation isn’t something that has been found yet, even though people like Michio Kaku have been working on it for decades. Kaku, in fact, is responsible for the standard model of this theory and says that string theory is something that could be the equation that Einstein was looking for.
String Theory Dimensions
In string theory, there are vibrating filaments or strings (fundamental objects of reality) that appear and manifest as various particles (quarks, electrons, etc.) and also as nature’s force-carriers (gravitons, gluons, photons, etc.). This is how they vibrate, and each string is said to be so tiny that they look like point-like particles, but they vibrate with different modes. This is explained in the same way that a guitar string can give you different notes.
Each mode of vibration is said to relate to a different sort of particle, so strings that vibrate a certain way will look like photons, others as electrons, and so on. In the view of this theory, particle collisions are said to be strings that merge and split apart.
If the mathematics for this has to make sense, there need to be more than four dimensions in the universe.
Our known space-time or our four dimensions do not give these strings enough room to vibrate. And only if they have space to vibrate, they can express themselves as different particles like photos or electrons.
The current version of the theory states ten dimensions as needed, but there is a hypothetical M-theory theory that needs eleven. The reason why this seems far-fetched and why this theory is still in progress is because we only see the three spatial dimensions along with the one of time and no more than those four.
Loop Quantum Gravity Vs String Theory
The biggest competitor that string theory has is the loop quantum gravity. The loop quantum theory focuses on the quantum theory of gravity making the scope far less narrow than the string theory that is known as the ‘theory of everything.’ This is precisely why this is a far less popular theory and what it does is that it tries to quantise space, meaning that it treats spaces as if it comes in tiny pieces. The flaw here is that there has been no success in showing that you can extract time-space out of the quantised space. Not to say that string theory has been anything more than theoretical.
On the other hand, string theory begins with methods of particle physics and attempts to explain all of particle physics, which includes a method of creating a quantum theory of gravity, and basically unifying it with all other forces, not to forget its predictions of extra dimensions.
The key insight from general relativity states that space-time is not a fixed framework and instead is something dynamic. String theory is a theory that is built on a fixed framework, so it does not account for how general relativity states that space-time is dynamic.
LQG researchers also say that the theory of quantum gravity must not be a theory that is put into a space-time stage that is already existing but should be background-independent.
Controversy
For years, physicists believed and hoped that the string theory would do all that it said it would. There was a dream of a singular theory, but in the early 90s, people seemed to give up on connecting the theory to the real world. In the last two decades, there has been an extension of theoretical tools, but there is very minimal progress in understanding what is in the universe and how it works.
It was said that people realized that the bar had been set too high, but now this theory has become increasingly complicated theoretically, and there seems to be a challenge even in understanding what string theory is and what it is not. The main issue lies in how the theory lies in theoretical physics, but there is no understanding of how it connects as a theory of gravity to nature.
FAQs on String Theory
1. What is String Theory in simple terms?
String Theory is a scientific idea suggesting that all fundamental particles in the universe, like electrons and photons, are not point-like dots but are instead tiny, one-dimensional vibrating strings of energy. The way each string vibrates determines the particle's properties, such as its mass and charge, much like how a guitar string can produce different musical notes by vibrating differently.
2. What problems in physics does String Theory attempt to solve?
String Theory's main goal is to solve one of the biggest challenges in physics: unifying General Relativity (the theory of gravity) with Quantum Mechanics (the theory of small particles). It aims to be a single 'Theory of Everything' that can:
- Provide a consistent theory of quantum gravity.
- Explain why fundamental particles and forces have the properties they do.
- Unify all fundamental forces of nature into a single framework.
3. Why does String Theory require extra dimensions?
String Theory requires more than the four dimensions we experience (three of space and one of time) because the mathematical equations that describe the vibrating strings are only consistent and stable in a universe with 10 or 11 dimensions. Scientists believe these extra dimensions are 'compactified,' or curled up so tightly at a microscopic scale that we are unable to perceive them in our everyday lives.
4. How does String Theory differ from the Standard Model of particle physics?
The key difference lies in their scope. The Standard Model is a highly successful theory that describes three of the four fundamental forces (electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces) but does not include gravity. String Theory is more ambitious, as it attempts to provide a quantum description of gravity and unite it with the other three forces, offering a potentially complete picture of physics.
5. Has String Theory been experimentally proven?
No, String Theory has not yet been proven by experiments. It remains a highly compelling but theoretical framework. The energies needed to detect these tiny strings or to find evidence of extra dimensions are immense, far beyond the reach of current technology like particle accelerators. Its validity currently rests on its mathematical consistency and elegance.
6. What is the concept of 'supersymmetry' in String Theory?
Supersymmetry is a core idea in String Theory that proposes every known particle has a corresponding 'superpartner' particle. This principle is crucial because including supersymmetry helps to stabilize the complex equations of the theory and resolve mathematical problems. Theories that include this idea are often called 'superstring theories'.
7. If everything is a string, why do we see different particles?
According to String Theory, we perceive different particles because the fundamental strings can vibrate in different patterns or modes. A string vibrating in one specific way might appear to us as an electron, while the same type of string vibrating in another way would appear as a photon or a quark. All the diverse particles in the universe are just different 'notes' played by these fundamental strings.
