String Theory
Throughout history, scientists and philosophers have asked questions regarding ‘where did the world come from’ or ‘what is the world made of’. Mankind as a whole is entering a new age of learning and discovery and scientists are making attempts to answer such questions with the help of new technologies that until recently were not available. The theory that tiny, one-dimensional strands of energy called strings make up everything we see and feel is the leading candidate for describing the universe around us. Though still in the works of being proven, the theory that oscillating strings make up all matter is often referred to as the ‘theory to end all theories’ or even the ‘theory of everything’ (T.O.E.). However, where there are believers, there are always skeptics: until the theory is proven the scientific community, as well as the public, will be torn on the idea that such a theory exists. If the theory is indeed one day proven true, scientists will be able to describe all aspects of the universe at a quantum or molecular level.
The main idea of string theory is its idea of uniting all four forces of nature into one unifying theory. Since the electromagnetic, strong, and weak forces can all be described at a quantum level, it is up to string theory to add gravity to that list. In order unify all forces of nature, string theory allows for the smallest of particles that have been discovered to be broken down even further and to replace point-particles with strings. An electron is not an infinitely small dot rotating around a nucleus, but a loop of a string that oscillates in a certain way. This is also true for quarks, which make up protons and neutrons, photons, the particles that make up light, and gravitons, the particles that relate to gravity. The different particles vary due to the different vibrations and oscillations of the strings that they are composed of. “If I took a little piece of spaghetti and plucked it, it...
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