the quark? You take a powerful microscope, you look deeply. Would you see anything else? And the idea of string theory is yeah, you would. Inside an electron or inside a cork, you'd see a little tiny vibrating filament. Andthe different vibrations of the string yield the different particles. So much like a string on a violin, when it
manifests through other things like motions of particles and the way in which spaceime warps and curves. But if string theory is correct, the energy of the universe is manifested in the vibrational patterns of strings. Nowwhen you say like who mandates that that string vibrates in one pattern, that string vibrates in a different pattern.
time. We live in a in a four-dimensional universe. But in string theory , we believe that there are 11 dimensions altogether. String theory is something that you came up with.I came up with string field theory, which is one of the branches of string theory . Right.
And what is string theory ? String theory says that what is a proton? What is anelectron? They're nothing but vibrations of a string.
Child support payments-- this guy, stay away from this guy. String theory is so powerful but so complicated that the human mind is incapable of solving it.
That's where string theory comes in. String theory is a quantum theory.Now we can calculate quantum corrections and calculate the stability of the wormhole, but that is still an active area investigation.
Like, there's a string physics class or something with strings where I get to learn how to use strings in some cool mathematical way. String theory . Yeah, sure, string theory .That's what I was thinking when I was nine years old.
That's the idea of a horizon. string theory was the theory of strings.
How you get to that point is you understand the middle part of photography forwards, backwards, upside down, sideways, in any other dimension, since we can talk string theory here, and you'll understand what I'm talking about.And then at point of capture, promptly forget it.
So it's way, way back pretty much at the dawn of formation of evolution of galaxies. String theory kind of gives a sort of elegant answer to that which is eventually you're just left with a normal subatomic particle.
energy um how much time do we have well I'm almost out of time well I'll end String Theory um is a theory uh we're not too sure exactly what the theory is
mathematics and physics. Then from there was to uh Oxford where I got my doctorate pursuing work in a field called string theory and then through the academic ladder Cornell and ultimately Colombia where I've been a professor now for 30 some odd years you know director of the center for theoretical physics at Columbia University.
That's the Poincare recurrence. So string theory is very much built on the logic of quantum mechanics and relativity, those two really core ideas
We can fit protons, neutrons, electrons, using a very low energy approximation to string theory . But string theory has higher vibrations. The next vibration up is the photino.
Many years later my sister became a string theorist, and I tried to get at least a workable understanding of string theory in my many conversations with her. And one day she sort of lost her patience with me and said, listen, all of what we write in words in English,
And this is the way that science proceeds. And string theory is one of them in science.
much how the setup looks. And when the helium has been filled they release the balloon and it just takes off. Takes about five hours to get to the upper with String Theory and the Theory of Everything at this point is that they are very far from making predictions that can be experimentally tested.
When we look at the mathematics of quantum mechanics, the mathematics of general relativity, and we put that math inside the math of string theory , all of a sudden the equations work. They come together harmoniously, and we like, whoa, the math of quantum mechanics, we're confident in that. We have
how this or that string vibrates in the aftermath of that rapid cosmological explosion. Does this string theory idea tell us anything about why we're here? I would like to think that it does. It's very indirect and we are aggregates of a
String theory is something that you came up with.I came up with string field theory, which is one of the branches of string theory . Right. And what is string theory ?
I came up with string field theory, which is one of the branches of string theory . Right. And what is string theory ? String theory says that what is a proton? What is an
everything that goes near it gets sucked in. question is where does string theory come from? Okay, at that point we have to say that that's where our ignorance
quote, "read the mind of god." Well, we think today we have it. It's called string theory . I'm the co-founder of one of the main branches of string theory , string field theory.
That's the Poincare recurrence. would take string theory down as well.
So it's a reasonable question to ask just generally, what would happen if the world had additional dimensions? But also because string theory predicts that there have to be additional dimensions, six additional dimensions of space. And now the thing is that, to be able to see these tiny black holes or other signatures
That's Einstein's theory. However, we don't know whether radiation effects, as quantum effects, will destabilize it. That's where string theory comes in. String theory is a quantum theory.
That's the idea of a horizon. So my understanding of string theory -- by the way, I really enjoyed your talk-- my understanding of string theory is a little bit outdated.
And this is the way that science proceeds. My religion is string theory .
much how the setup looks. And when the helium has been filled they release the balloon and it just takes off. Takes about five hours to get to the upper Theory because most String Theory models require the universe to be supersymmetric.
I don't have the mathematical expertise. I don't understand string theory . And this is what it is to have a domain of expertise.
professor now for 30 some odd years you know director of the center for theoretical physics at Columbia University. If you were to explain string theory to me like I was 12. Yeah. How would you do it?
vibrates in one pattern, you hear it as a C or or an A sharp. The different vibrations of the strings in string theory , they don't produce different musical tones. They produce different particles. So a string vibrating one way, electron. A string vibrating another way, a cork. So matter
I would like to think that it does. It's very indirect and we are aggregates of a huge number of particles or if string theory is correct of a huge number of strings. I mean inside your body you've got something like a billion billion billion particles and if string theory is correct each of those particles is a
"The God Equation" is what I do professionally for a living. I work in something called string theory , which we think is the theory of everything, the theory that eluded Einstein, the theory of everything. When I was eight years old, something happened which changed my life entirely.
That's the Poincare recurrence. I wanted to ask you about string theory .
That's the Poincare recurrence. And so this is what string theory claims to be.
That's the Poincare recurrence. There would be no motivation for following string theory if either of those two pillars were to fail.
And in fact, that's what I do for a living. I'm the co-founder of string field theory, one the main branches of string theory . And we think that that is the theory of everything, that everything we see around us is nothing but vibrations of tiny strings.
And supersymmetry is the basis for string theory .
that you know supposedly are required for string theory and those are spatial
That's the idea of a horizon. That was sort of the idea of string theory .
initially by physicists trying to understand a string theory of matter is what first kicked off, but then mathematicians took it on because it was kind of fun.
And this is the way that science proceeds. Those of us who believe in string theory believe it because it unifies gravity with the other three forces.
energy um how much time do we have well I'm almost out of time well I'll end a lot if we knew what string theory was um another
huge number of particles or if string theory is correct of a huge number of strings. I mean inside your body you've got something like a billion billion billion particles and if string theory is correct each of those particles is a vibrating filament. It is a gargantuan challenge to understand why those
That's the Poincare recurrence. So it's as true of loop quantum gravity is a string theory .
Hi, so, I wanted to ask about string theory specifically. And one of the things that I understand about string theory , is that it's proven very difficult to find tests, to find out whether string theory is actually the way the universe works, or maybe there's some other way that the universe works.
And I wanted to get your thoughts on that in sort of a philosophical level. Do you think that you eventually will discover some aspect of string theory that will be verifiable? Or do you think that we're sort of destined to have to guess at some level of what's going on at the very most basic levels of the universe?
That's the idea of a horizon. And then physicists realized they had five different versions of string theory that were all completely consistent.
And this is the way that science proceeds. And I just wanted to know it seems to me that string theory does, sort of, touch both sides of the spiritual and physical world in the sense