The Contribution of String Theory
New ideas were needed to solve the problem of quantum gravity. String theory came along, better known as String Theories because they are those which, for many people provide ongoing studies. String theory is more a theoretical framework trying to explain the four fundamental forces of the Universe. Its roots go back to Planck‘s action quantum in taking the Planck length – which has 10-35 Metres – as the smallest entity in the Universe. This is much smaller than any atom. New thought on the matter, involves the consideration by physicists that these strings might be able to oscillate. This would imbue Strings with undreamed-of possibilities.
A String: The smallest possible entity in The Universe, having solely one dimension at the size of a Planck length
Having a single dimension and being the smallest possible entity in the Universe, they are able to oscillate but only in a longitudinal mode. They are regarded as sound, like strings on a guitar, able to vibrate at a very high tone. The wave-length is determinded by Planck time, about 5x10-44 seconds. This Planck time is calculated by dividing the Planck length by the speed of the light. Like strings on a guitar they are anticipated to exhibit harmonics. Imagine the Universe vibrating to the sound of the strings and their overtones – a mighty concert. We can´t hear them because the sound is not acoustic, but we are able to detect and measure it with the use of sensitive instruments.
Strings oscillate with a frequency of the Planck time, the shortest time step in the cosmos. They might vibrate in overtones. Due to the creative minds of the String theorists – most of them primarily mathematicians, these string harmonics generate space and matter and the charge of particles. Moreover, strings create dimensions of space, which will be caused by the oscillations of those strings and not only the common three with which we are familiar: length, width and height. Calculation has shown that up to 10 or 12 dimensions are required to explain the spatial curvature of The Universe. Hence, the supercube on page 34 could be caused by certain modes of oscillation of cosmic strings. The first three dimensions are we might expect. Further dimensions are created by a process called Kaluza-Klein compactification. But these further dimensions are said to be tiny – the reason why they will not easily be detectable. Cosmic Stings also could eventually form celestial objects, during a symmetry-breaking phase in the early Universe. This could have happened when the topology in the expanding Universe was distorted. The formation of cosmic strings is somewhat analogous to the imperfections that form cracks when water freezes into ice. Strings incorporate gravity and the theory of strings therefore is a candidate in the scramble for that Theory of Everything.
Quantum foam as a mean of describing Space-Time by using String Theory
The Cosmos is filled with Quantum foam, as John Wheeler assumed, also referred to as space-time foam. It is a description of sub-atomic space-time turbulence at extremely small distances, on the order of the Plancklength. Moreover, quantum foam is thought to have created virtual particles of high energy able to shrink and interact with each other in such a way that superstrings appear which will accumulate, grow and become visible when proliferated into atomic sizes. There is not just one string theory but many. An abstract of all is called M-Theory, which calculates with eleven dimensions of spacetime interacting through membranes – or branes in short. Spoken simply, strings are able to elevate through the branes into higher dimensions, a process also called compactification. The ongoing progress leads to the superstring theory, including explanations for gravity. It might combine the previously mentioned theories of relativity and quantum physics in the future and hence string theory has the potential to become THE "theory of everything", the most wanted theory at all. In 1996 the calculations of the entropy of black holes in using parts of the string theory were in accordance with Hawking‘s former calculations. String theory mathematics is able to produce useful results.