Puppy dog tails and Snails..

So, I guess the big question is, what are we made of?

I just got done reading a book called 'The Elegant Universe'. A really good read, if I say so. Over the years I have accepted that Relativity works, because it has been shown in experiments to be a good explanation of how space-time works. However, I have always had a hard time with the why of it. This is the first author that could, in one paragraph, make me understand why it works the way it works. Great stuff.

Anyways, the author sets off on a grand tour of String Theory, Particle Physics and other intriguing topics. The one thing that really struck me, however, was his discussion of strings.

It seems that strings are not really 'strings', but rather can be little loops, bubbles or other things that cannot be drawn on paper, less comprehended by our minds that are stuck in a 4 dimensional world.

Also discussed, is that there are 11 dimensions, not 4 as we commonly perceive. The additional ones are 'wrapped up' on them selves in sub-atomic configurations, so we cannot sense them in our day to day life. Just think about it – as you move your arm in an arc, you might be passing through thousands or millions of tiny wrapped up space-time blobs – your arm might be moving up to 11 directions as you sweep it across the space in front of your body.

Strings are the things that appear to us as point particles (muon's, gravitons, mesons, quarks). Each is made up of a string vibrating and twisting in a specific way. This vibration determines the properties of the point particle.

What if those strings are made up of space-time that is wrapped around itself? Perhaps those additional 7 dimensions are actually what the strings are made up of? Perhaps we are not only made up of the stuff of stars, but the stuff of space itself!

Not much bearing on day to day life – but interesting none the less!

-Tsyko