String Theory Q&A

Compiled by Cheryl

Sources noted in text

Q: What is the “String” in String Theory?

A: A particle with zero mass and two units of spin. The average size of a string should be somewhere near the length scale of quantum gravity, called the Planck length, which is about 10^-33 centimeters, or 0.0000000000000000000000000000000001 cm.

Q: How many types of strings are there?

A: Two types; open and closed strings. For the purpose of comparison we’ll also look at a normal guitar string. The equations given are to the best of my knowledge correct. Please do NOT worry if the equations don’t make sense, they are only given for the purpose of comparison and because they’re good to be able to recognize.

            Guitar string: It’s a guitar string! Its movement can be described by the following equation (with n as a real number integer):

            Open strings: Have closed string loops that can break into strings. The oscillations of this string move in only one direction. An open string’s movement can be described by the following equation.

The string solution above is unlike a guitar string in that it isn't tied down at either end and so travels freely through spacetime as it oscillates. The string above is an open string, with ends that are floppy.

            Closed Strings: Have closed string loops that can't break into open strings. The movement of this string looks like two open string oscillations moving in the opposite direction around the string. The different oscillations of the closed string are called left movers and right movers.

The only difference in the solutions of open and closed strings is that closed strings must obey different periods. Again, if that doesn’t make sense don’t worry about it. Right now what is important is understanding what the heck “strings” are in String Theory, and how they differ from say, lyre strings or guitar strings.

Q: What are these “periods” that you keep referring to?

A: Think back to trig class, and the Sine function. Remember how that graph repeated itself over a period of 2 Π? That makes the sine function 2 Π periodic! Still lost? Don’t worry about it; just treat it like English grammar, a weird thing that is confusing but also rather useful!

Q: What sort of particles and things can I expect to see (not literally)?

A: Lots. But in case you want to know more:

• Sparticles: "Sparticle" is a merging of the words supersymmetric particle. Supersymmetry, one of the cutting-edge theories in current high-energy physics, predicts the existence of these "shadow" particles. (Wikkepedia)
• Quarks: Quarks are the particles that make up protons and neutrons, the positively charged and neutral particles, respectively, that make up the nucleus of an atom. (Microsoft Encarta 2005.)
• Leptons: There are two main types of leptons—charged leptons and neutrinos. Scientists classify these two types of leptons into three groups, or generations, with a charged lepton and a neutrino in each generation, for a total of six leptons. Everyday matter is made of just the first generation leptons. Leptons of the second and third generations are created during high-energy collisions of particles. (Microsoft Encarta 2005)
• Antimatter: For every matter particle, there is a corresponding antiparticle — these antiparticles collectively are what we know as antimatter. They have properties that are similar but opposite to their corresponding matter particles — for example the same mass and the same magnitude but opposite sign of charge. When a particle and its antiparticle meet, they annihilate — disappearing in a bursts of gamma rays. (Cool thing: When an electron and a positron—the electron’s antimatter counterpart—meet the resulting particle “lives” for a grand total of about 142 nanoseconds.) (http://www.positron.edu.au)
• Dark Matter: Nonluminous material that cannot be directly detected by observing any form of electromagnetic radiation, but whose existence is suggested by certain theoretical considerations. Determining if dark matter exists, and in what quantity, are some of the most challenging problems in modern astrophysics. (Microsoft  Encarta 2005)  This type of matter isn’t directly relevant to String Theory, but is pretty relevant to current Physics and more directly astrophysics.

Q: That’s nice… why do I care?

A: Because of the amazing implications this has for the world of magicks. String theory implies that there are in fact far more than four dimensions (Spacetime, length, width, and height). This is possible because strings do this weird but very cool thing that can only be explained and make sense if there are a total of eleven dimensions. This accounts for smaller dimensions curled onto themselves. Also, because strings are considered to be flexible and stretchable we can have entire universes contained by a singe string called a membrane or a “brane” for short. These universes can bump into each other and create all sorts of cool things. Science is catching up with magick people, slowly but surely. Think about that for a long time, and then think about it some more. 

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