String Theory Part I

String Theory over the last 20 years has become one of the most studied branch of physics. String theory hold the promise that the entire cosmos could be described in a few simple and short equations in much the same way the Christians believe the entire cosmos can be described in a few short bible verses. So, just what is string theory and why it is considered an important theory in cosmology?

String Theory was created in the 1980’s by a group of scientists. They were looking for a unified theory of matter. A unified theory of matter was pursued by Einstein until his death and it still eluded him. Strong Theory theorizes that matter is not made of dot like particles but is rather made up of small vibrating threads. Electrons, protons, and neutrons are merely miniature strings that vibrate differently. In fact all forces are merely miniature vibrating strings, including the force of gravity.

These miniature strings form the basis of matter, but in order to work the basics of the equations, scientists needed to acknowledge that there were not 4 dimensions but rather 10 dimensions. The other 6 dimensions are so pushed together that they are indistinguishable from the dimensions we already know and can measure. While this is hard to imagine for lay people, scientists were able to use this theory, at least theoretically, to describe both very large and very small masses and their behavior, something that had eluded them for years.

Continued in String Theory Part II