Chapter V of Moments in Modern Science: Superstring Speculation of
The Bible According to Einstein
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The New Testament 149
Chapter V: Superstring Speculation:
Truth or Superstition?
A
nd in the year of 1984, theorists showed through
a "miracle of calculation" that superstrings
were consistent
mathematically.157
Now superstrings were tiny Planck-sized filaments
that had enormous symmetry -- they had supersymmetry,
which was boson-fermion-type symmetry,
GUT-group symmetry and even hidden symmetries.
And the theorists showed that the string's internal motions
could potentially produce all the fundamental
microscopic particles -- the harmonic of a cord
was such a particle. And strings produced gauge interactions
by splitting, joining and combining. But most
miraculous was that superstrings, naturally,
among their interactions,
yielded gravity158 and that
they were well-defined consistent quantum things.
Thus one simple structure had the potential
to explain all of Nature's laws. And some theorists
were dazzled by the magic, miracles and beauty of the strings.
____________________
157Theorists often proceed
using issues of consistency, simplicity, conciseness and
esthetics, as well as symmetry principles, as guidance
in constructing theories, particularly in domains
where little experimental data is available.
Unexpected results, which seem like magic to those performing
the calculations, tend to make theorists believe that
they are on a fruitful path.
158 One of the greatest unsolved theoretical
problems in physics is the quantization of gravity.
Perhaps the biggest motivating factor for string theorists
is that strings offer a potential solution to this problem.
150 The Bible According to Einstein
And since the superstring could potentially explain
all forces and all matter, string theorists nicknamed
it "The Theory of Everything" -- perhaps it
is the Uni-Law.
But obstacles exist. First, superstring theory
predicts that spacetime has ten dimensions
instead of four! And, since time is one dimension,
space should then have nine dimensions. Now the human world
is three dimensions -- what happens to the extra six?
And theorists used imagination,
suggesting, "Perhaps the extra six dimensions curl
into a microscopic space, a space so small
that it's invisible." And they argued
by analogy: "When a two-dimensional flat piece
of paper is rolled into a narrow straw,
an ant crawling on it thinks its world is one-dimensional.
Its world is like a wire. Perhaps humans,
due to their bulky size, cannot sense
the other six dimensions, for perhaps this hidden space
simply is too small. Perhaps a man is like an ant.
Perhaps the Universe is like a straw."
The story of the ant had been discovered.
But it
was extremely difficult for theorists
to calculate in the theory of the superstring.
And so theorists could neither prove
nor disprove that the extra six dimensions
did curl up to form a tiny space. Now another
obstacle existed: Although
the superstring potentially could generate
the weak, strong and electromagnetic forces,
theorists could not prove that
these interactions were the only ones produced.
And furthermore, although the superstring's
internal motions yielded particles such
as quarks, electrons, photons and neutrinos,
theorists could not demonstrate
that all these particles were there.
Nor could they prove that other particles not
seen in Nature but potentially present
in the vibrations of the string were not there.
And so superstrings became a subject of much speculation.
And theorists
were divided in two groups: One,
consisting of believers, claimed
the superstring was
Uni-Law. "The Theory of Everything" was what
they thought to be the string. Now the other group
was made of non-believers -- they thought that
strings were nonsense. For them,
the Theory of Everything was a Theory of No Thing.
And so there arose diverse opinions of the superstring.
The superstring theory might or might not fail.
Its prophets wander in an unlit labyrinthine cave.
They grope in darkness and know not
whether there be a dead end or the Holy Grail.
Copyright ©1999 by
Jupiter Scientific Publishing Company
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