Alright.... Here we go.... This is going to get messy..... M-Theory.... Please excuse any inaccuracies in this blog (and the previous one). These are very hard topics to talk about when one has rather limited knowledge. However, I find them so interesting that I feel obliged to talk about them now that I have reason to do so (they explain the beginning of our universe).
So String Theory didn't quite make the cut. There ended up being five different String Theories..... That makes no sense what so ever! So String Theory fell apart and was almost forgotten.
So now we go to our dear friend Michael Duff. A theoretical physicist who specialized in a theory called "Supergravity". Supergravity was not so different from String theory. There was one tiny difference between them that drew the line though. String Theory posed that there were 10 Dimensions while Supergravity posed 11.
Eventually String theorists became desperate, nothing was working so they did the very thing that they shunned Duff for. They added the 11th dimension.... And guess what?! It worked! Suddenly, the five String Theories became one and guess who had the last laugh? OH YEAH! MICHAEL DUFF!
But the strings..... They changed... Upon the addition of the 11th dimension the strings changed. They flattened out, they stretched, and they combined to become one giant structure, one giant membrane.
Essentially, our universe, our existence, everything we know and love, is on a single membrane.
dunh dunh dunnnnnnnhhhhh......
and so we have M-Theory (where M stands for anything you want it to be)
Now what does this eleventh dimension look like? How does it work? Well I can explain it in a few words however I find it near impossible to actually comprehend.
The 11th dimension is infinitely long but has a width of (1/1.0x10^20mm) which is really small. If you thought that was weird then you will love this. Dimension number 11 exists one trillionth of a millimeter away from every point in space..... Talk about invasion of personal space!
Its in this ridiculous space that our membrane is chillin. Have a grand old membrane party with its fellow membranes.... Woah.... Did I just say there were more membranes?!?!?!?! Does this mean.... No... It can't be..... Parallel dimensions?!?!!? Gasps..... (if you read my other posts you totally knew that already)
Yes, yes there are parallel dimensions. A dimension for every possibility, but you already knew that right? (see older posts)
I would also like to point out that M-Theory explains gravity (which gives M-Theory relevance to Astronomy). w00t!
That will be explained in my next blog for as long with some things that actually make sense...... For once!
-MrAstroWhat
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The Power of Spaghetti!
As you may have guessed from my last post, I am going to take a stab at string theory. What does this have to do with astronomy? Well, a huge part of Astronomy is gravity..... obvious really.... But can anyone really explain it? Why is gravity such a weak force and how can we unify it with the other forces?
String theory is the idea that everything ever created is composed of tiny vibrating strings. These strings are what make up, well, everything, from quarks all the way to super-massive Black Holes.
Lets look at a guitar, if you strum it one way you will get one sound, if you strum it a different way you will get a different sound. Well, these strings work the same way. Their frequencies determine how they will behave, different frequency means different outcome, just like a guitar.
But why the heck is this important?! Who cares a bout a few pieces of string, why is this foolishness relevant?! Well There are two general theories that explain, well, everything. There is Einsteins Theory of General Relativity which explains the world of the really large and there is Quantum Mechanics which explain the world of the really small. Now if we look at the four fundamental forces (electromagnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear, and gravity). Quantum mechanics explained the interactions of the nuclear forces and electromagnetics while relativity explain gravity. However, these could not combine! Essentially gravity is the one force we cannot explain.
Scientists needed a way to bring these theories together and somehow master gravity. After years of debate and study, String Theory was born.
But mrAstrowhat, you still haven't explained how String theory unifies all the forces.....
Well technically it doesn't...... There were still problems occurring with string theory, nothing would add up and by this time there were also five different versions of String Theory.
There is something we must understand before moving forward, we can perceive a 4-dimensional world containing three spacial dimensions and 1 dimension of time. However there are more dimensions that we cannot see. I cannot really explain these other dimensions for it is near impossible to really grasp their existence at all. But anywho, String Theory stated that there were 10 dimensions to work with.
So why wasn't this adding up? I sure don't know! Why were there five different solutions? I do know! And so will you! In my next blog for this one is getting rather hefty!
But before I go I feel as if I should express my feelings of the class again. It has still yet to disappoint me. I find every class to be interesting and even though I have spent years researching my hobby of astronomy it is a whole new experience being taught it by a professional.
I have my constellation testing coming up, I have been sitting outside at night multiple times, braving the bitter cold, and readying myself! Except there is one thing...... Trees and streetlights, they are now the bane of my astronomical existence! Certain constellations move below the treeline and out of view as the night goes on...... Either that or I really need to rethink my knowledge of constellation positioning!
-MrAstrowhat
String theory is the idea that everything ever created is composed of tiny vibrating strings. These strings are what make up, well, everything, from quarks all the way to super-massive Black Holes.
Lets look at a guitar, if you strum it one way you will get one sound, if you strum it a different way you will get a different sound. Well, these strings work the same way. Their frequencies determine how they will behave, different frequency means different outcome, just like a guitar.
But why the heck is this important?! Who cares a bout a few pieces of string, why is this foolishness relevant?! Well There are two general theories that explain, well, everything. There is Einsteins Theory of General Relativity which explains the world of the really large and there is Quantum Mechanics which explain the world of the really small. Now if we look at the four fundamental forces (electromagnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear, and gravity). Quantum mechanics explained the interactions of the nuclear forces and electromagnetics while relativity explain gravity. However, these could not combine! Essentially gravity is the one force we cannot explain.
Scientists needed a way to bring these theories together and somehow master gravity. After years of debate and study, String Theory was born.
But mrAstrowhat, you still haven't explained how String theory unifies all the forces.....
Well technically it doesn't...... There were still problems occurring with string theory, nothing would add up and by this time there were also five different versions of String Theory.
There is something we must understand before moving forward, we can perceive a 4-dimensional world containing three spacial dimensions and 1 dimension of time. However there are more dimensions that we cannot see. I cannot really explain these other dimensions for it is near impossible to really grasp their existence at all. But anywho, String Theory stated that there were 10 dimensions to work with.
So why wasn't this adding up? I sure don't know! Why were there five different solutions? I do know! And so will you! In my next blog for this one is getting rather hefty!
But before I go I feel as if I should express my feelings of the class again. It has still yet to disappoint me. I find every class to be interesting and even though I have spent years researching my hobby of astronomy it is a whole new experience being taught it by a professional.
I have my constellation testing coming up, I have been sitting outside at night multiple times, braving the bitter cold, and readying myself! Except there is one thing...... Trees and streetlights, they are now the bane of my astronomical existence! Certain constellations move below the treeline and out of view as the night goes on...... Either that or I really need to rethink my knowledge of constellation positioning!
-MrAstrowhat
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