The Theory of Nothing

What the heck is string theory?

What the heck is string theory?

The definition of string theory is that it's a theoretical framework (think complicated math here) in which a there-dimensional quantum particle is replaced by a one-dimensional string. There is no proof for this other than that the math works.

The reason why string theory became so popular is because it's a theory to explain quantum gravity. Quantum gravity simply means that it's how to explain gravity that we are familiar with using quantum physics. As you may know, Einstein failed to incorporate gravity as a force into his theory of Special Relativity, mostly because gravity isn't a force so much as it's a spacetime distortion, which is the cornerstone of Einstein's General Relativity Theory. The other forces such as electromagnetism, the weak and the strong nuclear forces all have associated fields with their associated particles. The graviton particle was suggested for gravity, but it hasn't been proven to exist as yet.

The only reason that string theory is viable is because of the math. It's really extreme as theories go. It reduces quantum particles to one-dimension strings that can oscillate at different frequencies and be oriented in many ways so that a particle's mass and other properties can be described by string dynamics. Some have used the analogy of musical guitar notes, which can vibrate when plucked in many different ways to create many unique tones.

As an example of complex math, string theory has been connected to the Monstrous Moonshine mathematical theory, which has been used to make a connection between quantum field theory and symmetry. What does this mean? It's too complicated to discuss thoroughly here, but it's used to solve certain technical problems with groups, which are collections of mathematical types (a list of mathematical objects). Monster groups can have a humongous number of mathematical objects, hence the name. This monster idea could supposedly leads to a solution of quantum gravity in string theory. See what I mean about being complicated.

Using these ideas, string theory predicts the graviton particle and thus incorporates quantum gravity into its theoretical framework.

These one-dimensional strings can be closed into a loop or be open at two ends. These ends can join with other strings and then split. It's up to the theoretical physicists to determine the probability of string interactions in a similar manner that they use to describe particle interactions. By replacing particles with strings, the math allows an expansion of quantum theory and it leads to many new possibilities of explaining the whacky world of quantum physics.

One of these possibilities of this theoretical framework is calculating the number of dimensions, which in string theory comes to 10. Variations of string theory, such as M-theory predict 11. Flat string bosonic theory predicts 26. I equate this to calculating how many fairies can fit on the head of a pin.

String theory can help cosmologists understand the structure of the Universe. Because some strings have large positive energy, it could explain how the universe is rapidly expanding and suggest that we will see eternal inflation. However, that's only in our 'little' bubble universe. Other bubble universes could see deflation and could end up colliding with our universe.
Some cosmologists think they already have collided. I consider this bubble, bubble, double trouble!

String theories are supersymmetric. Supersymmetry is that quirky quantum physics theory that states that each boson particle has an associated fermion particle. In other words quantum particles engage in monogamous marriages. Unfortunately, this idea has not been proven as yet. Maybe there have been some divorces. That's a joke!

It turns out that string theory could be the Holy Grail of Physics better known at the Theory of Everything, which is where all four forces, including gravity, can be accommodated into a single unifying theory.

M-theory is special kind of superstring theory that utilizes all of the existing string theories. Evidently, M-theory ties quantum gravity and strings together in a more consistent manner. This idea has lead to Branes, short for membranes, or higher dimension point particles. Branes can exist in higher dimensions and are known as p-Branes. That's not a joke. Some cosmologists think that the strings of our universe are stuck on a brane. This leads to the conclusion that parallel universes are consistent with string theory. I talk about this in another essay.

Another wild consequence of string theory is that quantum gravity is consistent with the idea that all of the data describing a volume of space is encoded on the boundary of that space in the form of a hologram. In other words, the entire universe is encoded or painted in two dimensions on the cosmological horizon. Since we can't go there, there's no way to verify this concept.

As far as I'm concerned, string theory has yet to be proven to be the answer to the Theory of Everything. That's why I called my book The Theory of Nothing.

Thanks for reading.