From: Francis Heaney Newsgroups: rec.humor.oracle.d Subject: Re: passing parameters to a form Date: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 00:35:51 -0700 Paul L. Kelly wrote: > > Okay, now you've got my curiosity going. How about posting this > superstring theory oracularity -- it might give somebody some > inspiration for a funny answer. You asked for it, you got it. It's a long one. ------------------------------------------------------- The Internet Oracle has pondered your question deeply. Your question was: > Oh, great Oracle, who knows more yo-yo tricks than Tommy Smothers, can you > please explain superstring theory for me in terms that a layman would > understand? And in response, thus spake the Oracle: } Well it has nothing to do with Yo-yo's, if you were implying that. } } There are so many (four or five by now... I haven't kept up on it) } different theories underneath the general "superstring theory". I'll try } to keep with just the basics. } } What I will eventually come towards is how the superstring theory } connects the General Theory of Relativity to Quantum Mechanics and shows } how they can work in harmony. } } First we have to understand a little bit about relativity and quantum } mechanics. General Relativity speaks of the deformation of spacetime in } response to the presence of matter. General Relativity (as well as } Quantum Mechanics) is an extension of Newtonian physics as Newtonian } physics is not fully complete. } } Understand that Newtonian physics is not exactly wrong. Differences } between Newtonian mechanics and General Relativity really cannot be seen } at small levels -- like our every day life. Newtonian physics are still } taught and still practiced when speaking of general motion. General } Relativity just tends to be more precise on larger matters. (Like the } change in the parahelion of a planets orbit around the sun) General } Relativity (as well as Quantum Mechanics) will be extended by other } theories as time moves on. } } ANYWAY... the basic ideal of General Relativity. (We'll have to learn a } little about Newtonian Physics first... then we'll learn about General } Relativity) } } Newtonian physics says that gravity is a force between any two objects } of matter. General Relativity predicts that gravity is more of the } natural curvature of the universe. It's the natural curvature of } spacetime in response to matter. Let me make an analogy. Let's pretend } all of spacetime is like a sheet of plastic stretched to appear to be } flat. If someone drops a marble on this plastic, the plastic will bend } around this marble. The marble will sit in the middle of this bend. } Then, if someone drops another marble on this plastic, it will roll } around the new bends in the plastic. In fact, if given some forward } velocity, the other marble may go around the original marble and appear } to orbit it. } } Let's think of our own solar system like that piece of plastic. Our sun } was dropped like a big marble on the piece of plastic to soon become our } solar system. Then the earth came rolling by with some forward velocity. } As it got caught in the curve the sun had made in the plastic, it rolled } around that curve and has been ever since. Other marbles (planets) have } done the same thing. The earth also makes a dent in the plastic it rolls } around in. Our moon rolls around that plastic. } } And so the "plastic" of spacetime has dents in it from the presence of } matter in it. The topology of the plastic never changes. Topology is a } mathematical concept that embodies those properties of a geometrical } space which do not change if the space is } stretched, twisted or bent but not torn. A doughnut and a sphere are } distinct from the topological viewpoint because there is no way to } deform one into the other. A doughnut and a teacup, however, can be } deformed into another (they both have a hole) and therefore have the } same topology. } } So going by the General Theory of relativity, the universe constantly } expands and changes and is defmored by the presence of matter, but its } topology always remains the same. Gravitation is therefore a consequence } of this changing of the geometry of space-time. (Understand that light, } too, must follow the curvature of space-time. General Relativity does } predict that light will bend as it gets near a very massive object, like } a star) } } To make a long story short, General Relativity deals with the "force" of } gravity and therefore is usually applied to the largest and most massive } objects. (Remember -- Newtonian mechanics works wonderfully for general } every day motion. It's very precise when dealing with two cars passing } each other. Its precision only becomes in question during events dealing } with very large masses or very small masses.) General Relativity was an } extension of Newtonian physics that covered its lack in precision when } dealing with large masses. Quantum Theory was an extension of Newtonian } Physics when dealing with very small masses -- subatomic masses. Quantum } Theory introduces a duality when dealing with light. } } This duality has to deal with how light can be observed as both a } particle and a wave. } } Consider a situation on a flat plane with a marble gun at one end and } two doors at the other. The marble gun fires marbles (not necessarly in } one straight direction) towards these doors. When both doors are open } and marbles are collected on the other side, the density of the } collection could be described as more of a sine wave. (It's hard to } describe this without a picture) Now if you changed this whole situation } to one where this whole aparatus is submerged in water and instead of } marbles being fired, a standing wave was generated, you would receive } different results on the other side of the doors. The standing wave } would hit the doors and (because the width of the doors was } significantly smaller than the wave length of the waves) diffraction } would occur on the other side of the two doors. This diffraction would } cause two waves to be observed on the other side of the doors. Those } waves would then interfere with each other -- constructively at some } points and destructively at others. The "collections" on that side could } then be described as a wave with a maximum across the midline of the two } doors. (Does this make sense? It's the best example I know of and I } really can't describe it very well in words.) } } So what if electrons are put in this situation. One might expect the } electron particles (like marbles) would produce the same graph as the } marbles. It turns out that they do not. They produce a graph like the } water waves did. } } If you'd like to see an example of this, make two thin slits in paper } right next to each other. Then shine a light behind that paper and hold } that paper close to a surface that you'll be able to see light on. You } might expect two thin lines to be generated on the surface. It turns out } that you'll see a few lines generated - with the brightest between the } two lines. Here we see that light acts like a wave. } } So Quantum Theory revealed this -- it showed us that light behaves like } a particle in some instances, but like a wave in others. } } FINALLY we get down to the superstring theory. } } General Relativity very much deals with large masses as Quantum Theory } very much deals with small masses. (er... we might say very small } distance scales that coincidently normally contain small masses) They } are virtually incompatible mathematically. } } But in some situations we need to apply both theories. One example is at } the center of a black hole where there is an immense amount of mass in a } very small distance. To combine general relativity and quantum mechanics } in order to deal with such situations, we apply the Superstring Theory. } } Trouble normally occurs when particles intract with each other across } distances in the order of 10^33 cm. (The Planck (after Max Planck -- one } of the founders of Quantum Mechanics) Length) } } The Superstring Theory modifies General Relativity on the order of the } Planck length. The Superstring Theory says that the elementary parts of } matter are not described correctly as points but as loops. The radii of } these loops is the Planck Length. Since we cannot probe down to a } distance as small as the Planck Length (currently) then these loops } appear to be points. } } Something interesting about this is that if you consider these points } actually as loops... you introduce NINE spacial dimensions -- six more } than ever predicted before. General Relativity predicts four dimensions } -- three spacial and one time. The Superstring Theory predicts TEN } dimensions -- nine spacial and one time. (If you envision a loop in that } small distance, you have to consider the dimensions of that loop itself. } Those dimensions make up the six extra spacial dimensions.) } } That's the Superstring theory in a nutshell. When considering this } theory, it makes it possible to combine quantum mechanics and } relativistic mechanics. Of course, this theory also makes its own } predictions having to deal with the tearing of space-time. } } We already know that General Relativity says that space-time doesn't } tear, but bends. It's topology never changes. General Relativity says } that if space-time was ever to tear, huge physical consequences will } occur. The Superstring theory says that space-time does tear and then } re-connect changing the topology of the universe. You have to } understand, however, that the Superstring theory predicts this change in } topology in the extra six dimensions that it predicts. } } Oy... I don't know if that's in layman's terms or makes any more } sense... But it's the best "in a nutshell" I can do about the } Superstring theory.