Can someone explain the string theory in the easiest way possible *details*?

Question

I know that's a loaded question, but I've become interested in physics concerning the universe lately. I came across this theory in a documentary, and it sounded interesting, but I couldn't quite understand everything. I've tried Wikipedia, and that didn't help :-( Thank you for your answers.

Answer 1

String theory is a still-developing mathematical approach to theoretical physics, whose original building blocks are one-dimensional extended objects called strings. Unlike the point particles in quantum field theories like the standard model of particle physics, strings interact in a way that is almost uniquely specified by mathematical self-consistency, forming an apparently valid quantum theory of gravity.



Since its birth as the dual resonance model which described the strongly interacting hadrons as strings, the term string theory has changed to include any of a group of related superstring theories and larger frameworks such as M-theory, which unite them. A shared property of all these theories is the holographic principle.String theorists have not yet completely described these theories, nor have they determined if these theories relate to the physical universe or how.The logical coherence of the approach, however, and the fact that string theory can include all older theories of physics, have led many physicists to believe that such a connection is possible. In particular, string theory is the first candidate theory of everything, a way to describe all the known natural forces (gravitational, electromagnetic, weak and strong) and matter (quarks and leptons) in a mathematically complete system. On the other hand, many detractors criticise string theory because it has not yet provided experimentally testable predictions.



Like any other quantum theory of gravity, it is widely believed that testing the theory experimentally would be prohibitively expensive, requiring heroic feats of engineering on a solar-system scale. Although string theory, like any other scientific theory, is falsifiable in principle, critics maintain that it is unfalsifiable for the foreseeable future, and so should not be called science.Work on string theory is made interesting because of the mathematics involved, and because of the large number of forms that the theories can take. String theory strongly suggests that spacetime has eleven dimensions.not the usual three space and one time; but the theory can easily describe universes with four observable spacetime dimensions too.String theories include objects more general than strings, called branes. These are black-holes charged with a differential form vector potential which has more than one index, a different type of electricity and magnetism where the fundamental objects are extended. By studying certain p-branes and identifying them with D-branes, endpoints for strings, certain types of string theory are shown to be equivalent to certain types of more traditional gauge theory. Research on this equivalence has led to new insights on quantum chromodynamics, the fundamental theory of the strong nuclear force.

Answer 2

Yah i came to know abt this through a documentary too...."The Elegant Universe" under NOVA production house...its jus pretty gr8 which helped me hooked on to this theory for a while....i wud suggest u to read the same book by Brian Greene....i think its available as a free e-book too....u cud also visit this site which may help u in this regard.....www.superstringtheory.com....but explaining this here is almost impossible coz it atleast needs a 1000-page explanation for a good understanding....there u go...

Answer 3

Five main theories.

That may be unified by M-theory, completely theoretical (no way to test its predictions) thought to be incomplete and in need of a new system of mathematical inquiry (new math needs to be invented to understand it fully.

Includes extra spacial dimensions (some are believed to be infinitesimally small and curled up within our own and other are believed to exist outside of our three spacial dimensions)

As far as support as a theory, it postdicts gravity (gravity natural results in the theory so that is one of the main reasons so many physicist are excited about it) offers a way to unite all the fundamental forces found in our universe (strong and weak nuclear forces are already united but with the introduction of quantum mechanics there is disparity between the finite spacial behavior of the universe compared to the everyday and large scale universe) also offers a possible solution to the origin or our universe as the big bang may could be said to have resulted from the collosion of a different branes that activated the constants of our cosmos.

You see the main reason physicist are inclined to explore string thoery even though most of it amounts to nothing more than ideas that work on paper, is the fact that it may offer them the most coveted prize in modern physics, the grand unification of our universes foundamental forces (you know what einstein spent the rest of his life trying to do) speaking of einstein it must be said that his brilliance is a curse.

For no other theory has so accurately discribed time space and gravity before Einstein enter the seen, but when we began to probe his ideas at high engery small scale the rules seem to not get along.

It is as though the universe operates with two different "programs" or sets of software if you will.

One program for the everyday scale (relativity general and special) and another for the very small scale (quantum mechanics) it has forced scientist to review many basic classical assumptions about nature and all sorts of interesting questions that seem more fitting in sciencefiction novels then in physics lectures.

Basicaly the main conflict is with general relativity and quantum mechanics.

The most finite and minute scales of space are structured quite differently then what we normaly tend to think of when some one mentions the word space (the vacuum that exists when no matter is present) so when physcist attempt to apply general relativity to this radically different structure of space they get very irrational results (science attempts to increase understanding and this is not easy to do if your formulas all become tangled with infitely increasing complexity, that is not in keeping with the goal at all because as far as the rational mind is concerned such things amount to nonsense) string theory is a theory that seeks to bring sanity bace on the scene but to do so it has had to rely solely upon abstract and intangible math that is not even complete in its discription of what string theory is partly because the theory allows for things that exists outside of our cosmos constants but it should also offer (if correct) the reason those constants are set at the values they have (another reason it is so exciting to so many).

I would suggest reading brian greenes elegant universe or visit youtube where it is posted in several installments.

I hope I offered some helpful insight to get you started in the direction of an answer to your question.

Answer 4

It's just an abstract theory about the smallest subunits of matter. We've all heard of atoms. Most of us know that atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. They're made up of quarks and the theory is that quarks are made up of strings.