String Theory
Projection
of a Calabi-Yau Manifold,
one
of the ways of compactifying the
extra dimensions as proposed by
string theory
Projection
of a Calabi-Yau Manifold,
one of the ways of compactifying the
extra dimensions as proposed by
string theory
one of the ways of compactifying the
extra dimensions as proposed by
string theory
String theory is a powerful theory which attempts to solve the ToE. It
originated around 1960 and is currently one of the major topics of
research in theoretical physics. String theorists believe that
in the most fundamental level of matter there is nothing but vibrating strings.
These strings are believed to be one dimensional objects present at the heart
of all matter and that their vibration produces different particles. This
theory proposes that just like musician can produce numerous tunes from a
violin string, different types of elementary particles are produced from
different vibrations of the strings and these elementary particles form all the
matter in the universe. And as there are infinitely many types
of vibrations, there are infinitely many types of particles proposed
by the string theory. It also predicts that these strings resonate in a
mind boggling 10 dimensions. So, as string theory
describes the “Standard Model” (the set of all elementary particles
observed) as well as naturally incorporates gravity, it is considered as
candidate for a ToE by many physicists and string theorists like Michio Kaku,
Stephen Hawking and Edward Witten. According to Hawking in particular,
"M-theory is the only candidate for a complete theory of the universe."(M-theory
is an extension of string theory that predicts existence of 11 dimensions).
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Michio Kaku (leading String Theorist)
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The E8 Theory
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| Antony Garrett Lisi |
The E8 theory (as it is popularly known as)
is another unified theory which was revealed in November
2007 in a paper known as “An
Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything”. The
physicist behind this theory is Antony Garrett Lisi, who is an independent researcher
without any academic position. It is based on an 8 dimensional mathematical
pattern known as the E8. According to Lisi’s theory of everything, the universe
looks like this E8 structure. Lisi says "I think our universe is this
beautiful shape." Lisi found a way to put all the elementary particles
discovered into the 248 points of the E8 and found 20 points remaining. So, his
theory predicts that there must be another 20 elementary particles to complete
the standard model. It is basically a geometric unified theory of the universe
which effectively combines gravity and particle physics. It is considered to be
very promising because it can work within 4 dimensions and does not require any
hypothetical higher dimensions as string theory does. Also unlike string
theory, the E8 theory is believed to be verifiable by using current
technology. Despite not being a widely accepted theory, this theory has
attracted many physicists from round the world who have took it on for further
research onto it. But, it is still an incomplete and young theory as described
by Lisi and requires time to evolve into a stronger one.
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| THE E8 PLANE |
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