'String Theory'

[dave_c]

I've seen a few minutes of a docu on String theory one morning (before having to leave for work).

This show has been bugging ever since, so can someone explain String Theory in a nutshell, it's viability and why it is disputed, why String Theorist believe this is found in a sub-sub-atomic level, how it explains that there are around 12 dimensions in the universe, and can also explain how the big bang occured (through the collision and impact of two 'opposite universes')

 

Explain in Laymans terms please! Thanks ; )

[Dacetine]

Bit of a complicated question to answer in the short space allowed here. I suggest you try Wikipedia for a good general explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory

In short, the mathematics of how strings move and vibrate appear to also work quite well (or at least better than other current theories) at describing how fundamental particles behave. As such, it is proposed that, at the lowest level, all matter is composed of strings (either open or loops). The way in which these strings vibrate and move determines what type of particle they represent (e.g. quark, electron, graviton).

[Loosehead]

well, bit tricky in a nutshell, I recomend:

"The Elegant Universe" By Brian Greene

[Calvesy]

Try hanging a length of string from your hand and wobbling it. With a bit of practice, you find that some shapes are stable. These represent partices. Just rotate your hand the other way to create the antiparticle. As for forces, imagine a guitar where the string is held still at both ends. If you just touch the string with your fingertip without pressing it into the board and pluck the string you will find some stable notes (harmonics). The extra dimension are the spaces in which these strings vibrate. They do not continue on our scale of things except for three space on one failed spatial dimension that's an infinitely thin one way street. We call the latter time.