TIME TO ACT STRING(ENT)

String theory, I think is the theory that has given the idea of unification of all elementary forces under one head, some realistic ground for further investigations and discoveries…this time the discovery not just restricted to our universe or those four dimensions of space time but taking a huge leap in terms of imagination, which this time is mathematically empowered.
The first question that came to my mind when I got to know about this relatively new theory was…”what is a string?”
Now string as a term here is nothing but evolution of the word “particle”.
The particle theory which is widely used, exhausted and of course accepted works well only when the system is taken to be independent of gravity, as it is too weak a force in this frame of reference.
General relativity like no other theory till date, has offered infinite insights into the universe, the orbits of planets, the evolution of stars and galaxies, the big bang and recently observed black holes. However, the theory itself only works when we pretend that the universe is purely classical and that quantum mechanics is not needed.
String theory and the idea of wrapping the microscopic particle into more number of dimensions closes this gap between classical and quantum models.
In String Theory, the myriad of particle types is replaced by a single fundamental building block, a `string'. These strings can be closed, like loops, or open, like a hair. As the string moves through time it traces out a tube or a sheet, according to whether it is closed or open. Furthermore, the string is free to vibrate, and different vibrational modes of the string represent the different particle types, since different modes are seen as different masses or spins. This the basic principle behind the idea of getting strings into the picture of our universe and for that matter(and forces) universes.
To actually take this primeval idea to the extent of unifying all the forces, it became mandatory for the scientists to bring in a multi dimensional system into existence. Gravity the force I guess for which each one of us have already fallen, posed a huge problem with concern to unification.
One of the most remarkable predictions of String Theory is that space-time has ten dimensions! At first sight, this may be seen as a reason to dismiss the theory altogether, as we obviously have only three dimensions of space and one of time. However, if we assume that six of these dimensions are curled up very tightly, then we may never be aware of their existence. Furthermore, having these so-called compact dimensions is very beneficial if String Theory is to describe a Theory of Everything.
But with the all the development in this area, scientists reached the state where ten dimensions were to be handled, nine spatial one being time. This lead to five string theories with not much of co relation.
Before the string theories could go to the dogs, scientists added another dimension to these ten dimensional systems, the eleventh dimension.
And then we got what we now know as M-theory. The theory of membranes.
The tiny invisible strings of String Theory are the fundamental building blocks of all the matter in the Universe, but now, with the addition of the eleventh dimension, they changed. They stretched and they combined. The astonishing conclusion was that all the matter in the Universe was connected to one vast structure: a membrane. In effect our entire Universe is a membrane.
Then it became very easy to imagine a “world” with many such membranes, having parallel existence. As beautifully said by the renowned scientists Paul Steinhardt and Michio Kaku… there have been other universes existing throughout just that we never thought of it. While some of these universes may be working on completely different set of laws, some of them are bound to resemble ours.
Gravity which as we is the weakest force in “this” universe might just turn out to be pretty strong in some other universe.
Scientists are now heading towards solving the puzzle behind this weak force.
Is gravity leaking from our universe through the empty spaces between the eleven dimensions or has it been seeping all this while into our universe from another membrane close by?
With the idea of eleven dimensions now, we can actually believe to have an existence at some tail end of the force of gravity.
This thought is so astonishing and intriguing that any person on earth would love to know more.
The big bang then actually turns out be an event in this entire string of existence.
Lumps of matter are thought to have come into existence by interaction of two or more membranes. These membranes actually ripple and this interaction in terms of energy leads to creation of other universes or potential universes.
The journey from the string theory to the parallel universes via M-theory is full of fascinations and anticipations and like any other theory..assumptions.
This theory has now brought us to the pinnacle of imagination coming true with time machines actually being worked out on the principle of parallel existence of membranes, forces, matter and events.
I just hope that all that this theory says turns out to be true…and I really wish all those key people, scientists involved in this pursuit of “everything” a very good luck for all times and dimensions to come!!!

-kuhu shukla