Post by Moreta on Sept 6, 2004 9:58:26 GMT -5
Well, I said I would post it up when I thought I was done and though I suspect there are things I still need to change or swap around or replace or whatever, its pretty much there. Thoughts etc are very welcome as I may have to send this off to Oxford when I apply And yes I know its short, it only has to be 500 words.
The Theory of Everything
Finding a Theory of Everything would be a dream come true for any physicist. Ideas and theories have been suggested and dismissed over time but a Theory of Everything still seemed out of our reach until String Theory.
This theory states that rather than elementary particles like protons and electrons, there are instead strings, either open, like a hair or closed in a loop. As the strings move across space they vibrate and leave a trail that is either a sheet or a tube, depending on the shape of the string. The different vibrations and shapes of the string represent the different particles, so for example, an open string vibrating at a certain “note” might represent an electron, while a closed string at a slightly higher “note” may in fact be a proton.
String theorists also claim that there are ten different dimensions, four of which we already know: three are spacial and one is time. It is possible for six extra dimensions to exist if they are very tiny and tightly curled up. For example, if you look at a straw from a great distance, it appears to simply be a line, but move closer and you discover that it is a three dimensional object. The extra dimensions introduced in this theory also aid the mathematics of the theory as quantities like charge or mass can now be given a direction in one of the six dimensions. Using directions is much easier than the original units because directions can be added together as vectors whereas mass and charge could not be used together in the same equation.
However, a problem has arisen. Rather than one String Theory, five variations have been discovered, and with five different versions there is no possibility that this could be the Theory of Everything.
This is where M-theory comes in as it claims that all five different String Theories are actually only different aspects of one single theory. It also adds an eleventh dimension to the ten of string theory and it is this dimension that allowed the five variations to be combined once more.
For a theory to become the Theory of Everything, it must be able to explain every occurrence in our universe, including the Big Bang. M-Theory neatly solves this dilemma by introducing parallel universes which reside alongside ours in the eleventh dimension. The membranes, or universes, not only vary in size but also in shape. Some are bubble like in shape, like ours, others are flat, like a sheet of paper or donut shaped or much larger with several holes in them. The possibilities for the shapes of the membranes are endless.
However, the eleventh dimension of M-theory quickly changed from its original image: instead of a tranquil eleventh dimension with little bubbles floating peacefully, they began to believe that the universes in fact moved about. This produced an interesting question: what would happen if two of these universes were to collide? A possible explanation for the Big Bang had been found.
The possibilities of M-theory are still being explored by physicists, but it is becoming a popular theory and may well lead us to a Theory of Everything.
The Theory of Everything
Finding a Theory of Everything would be a dream come true for any physicist. Ideas and theories have been suggested and dismissed over time but a Theory of Everything still seemed out of our reach until String Theory.
This theory states that rather than elementary particles like protons and electrons, there are instead strings, either open, like a hair or closed in a loop. As the strings move across space they vibrate and leave a trail that is either a sheet or a tube, depending on the shape of the string. The different vibrations and shapes of the string represent the different particles, so for example, an open string vibrating at a certain “note” might represent an electron, while a closed string at a slightly higher “note” may in fact be a proton.
String theorists also claim that there are ten different dimensions, four of which we already know: three are spacial and one is time. It is possible for six extra dimensions to exist if they are very tiny and tightly curled up. For example, if you look at a straw from a great distance, it appears to simply be a line, but move closer and you discover that it is a three dimensional object. The extra dimensions introduced in this theory also aid the mathematics of the theory as quantities like charge or mass can now be given a direction in one of the six dimensions. Using directions is much easier than the original units because directions can be added together as vectors whereas mass and charge could not be used together in the same equation.
However, a problem has arisen. Rather than one String Theory, five variations have been discovered, and with five different versions there is no possibility that this could be the Theory of Everything.
This is where M-theory comes in as it claims that all five different String Theories are actually only different aspects of one single theory. It also adds an eleventh dimension to the ten of string theory and it is this dimension that allowed the five variations to be combined once more.
For a theory to become the Theory of Everything, it must be able to explain every occurrence in our universe, including the Big Bang. M-Theory neatly solves this dilemma by introducing parallel universes which reside alongside ours in the eleventh dimension. The membranes, or universes, not only vary in size but also in shape. Some are bubble like in shape, like ours, others are flat, like a sheet of paper or donut shaped or much larger with several holes in them. The possibilities for the shapes of the membranes are endless.
However, the eleventh dimension of M-theory quickly changed from its original image: instead of a tranquil eleventh dimension with little bubbles floating peacefully, they began to believe that the universes in fact moved about. This produced an interesting question: what would happen if two of these universes were to collide? A possible explanation for the Big Bang had been found.
The possibilities of M-theory are still being explored by physicists, but it is becoming a popular theory and may well lead us to a Theory of Everything.