Musical section

Usage examples of strings.

Chapter 6 that this simple replacement of point-particle material constituents with strings resolves the incompatibility between quantum mechanics and general relativity.

If string theory is right, the microscopic fabric of our universe is a richly intertwined multidimensional labyrinth within which the strings of the universe endlessly twist and vibrate, rhythmically beating out the laws of the cosmos.

With the discovery of superstring theory, musical metaphors take on a startling reality, for the theory suggests that the microscopic landscape is suffused with tiny strings whose vibrational patterns orchestrate the evolution of the cosmos.

Unlike an ordinary piece of string, which is itself composed of molecules and atoms, the strings of string theory are purported to lie deeply within the heart of matter.

It is no wonder that our present-day experiments are unable to resolve the microscopic stringy nature of matter: strings are minute even on the scales set by subatomic particles.

From this perspective, even though strings have spatial extent, the question of their composition is without any content.

Were strings to be made of something smaller they would not be fundamental.

Instead, whatever strings were composed of would immediately displace them and lay claim to being an even more basic constituent of the universe.

If string theory is truly off the mark, then, well, we can forget strings and the irrelevant question of their composition.

And so another possibility, should strings fail to be the final theory, is that they are one more layer in the cosmic onion, a layer that becomes visible at the Planck length, although not the final layer.

To date there are intriguing hints in theoretical studies that strings may have further substructure, but there is as yet no definitive evidence.

This is again familiar, as violin strings that are plucked more vigorously will vibrate more wildly, while those plucked more gingerly will vibrate more gently.

Heavier particles have internal strings that vibrate more energetically, while lighter particles have internal strings that vibrate less energetically.

Differences between the particles arise because their respective strings undergo different resonant vibrational patterns.

In the preceding section we proposed that the masses and the force charges of such elementary particles are the result of the way in which their respective strings are vibrating.