What is the string theory about?

Question

What is the string theory about?

Answer 1

I'm with cute kitty, on that theory. <}:-})

Answer 2

okay, here's what I know about string theory,

you need a brief history of physics to understand it though

ok back in the day Newton made some very important laws of physics, these were considered completly correct up until albery einsteins day.

Einstein made two postulates, and one postulate is that nothing can go faster then the speed of light. This has been proven correct in experiment after experiment. So Einstein conducted an thought experiment and showed that newton's laws had some flaws. Oh they are perfectly fine at normal everyday speeds, but if you approach light speed, they are completly wrong when compared with the evidence

Also quantum mechanics was discovered around this same time.

Now here's the thing, when you get down to quantum level, smaller then an atom, gravity's force is so small it can be considered negligable. it's like 10^-36 power of the electromagnetic force. no one goes to that many significant digits, so gravity has no role in quantum mechanics

(except to say, hey look we can ignore it)

So we have newton's laws for gravity and normal speeds, and we have einsteins (and other ppls) theories and postulates for quantum mechanics and light speed.

now these two theories work fine by themselves. But when you try to combine them...

take a black hole, it is WAY massive gravity has a huge effect, but the singularity (the vry vry center of a black hole) is smaller then an atom. so you try to apply both newton's laws, and quantum mechanics, and the math stomps off sulking giving imposible answers and gobbedly ****

so physicsts are working on a new theory that can combine both newton's laws of gravity and quantum mechanics and light speed.

some of the more "agreed" upon theory's of string theory

the consituant parts of the universe, smaller then the smallest part of an atom, can be mathematically modeled as strings.

strings that vibrate, strings of different length

that's why its called string theory

Next, in order for it to work, extra dimensions are needed, i think the currently agreed upon number is 11 dimensions, counting the 4 we live in now (up/down, sideways, back and forth, and time)

and there are all sorts of theory's how a string could be stretched to make a membrane, and on this membrane is our universe, but there could be paralell universes, that are next to our membrane, and if the two collide... big bang type stuff

then there is the theory that the particle that carries the gravity force, a graviton, is a string in a loop, whose ends aren't attached to our universe membrane, and gravity is so weak, because graviton's can travel to the paralel universes

but there are LOTS of physicists working on this, and there are LOTS of theories, and I don't know if what I'm saying is even considered by string theorists anymore. string theory has seemed to have stalled.

Even einstein, when he was alive, tried to solve the universal theory (string theory)

and he couldn't