May 26 2012: http://xkcd.com/171/ (A humorous, but perhaps truthful, answer that scientists give: "I dunno")
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/conversation-with-brian-greene.html (If you like Brian Greene, check out this interview)
Also, you should watch Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe" which seeks to educate the general public on the mysteries that physicists such as Stephen Hawking try to solve.
If you want to understand the universe you will encounter two branches of theoretical physics:
1. Quantum Mechanics
2. General Relativity
Quantum Mechanics seeks to understand the smallest particles in the universe, even smaller than the atom. In this realm, there is something called the "Uncertainty Principle." It says the closer you get to a particle, the less you know about its motion. Strange? Definitely--the quantum mechanics realm is perhaps as strange as you can get! Particles literally teleport from place to place all the time. In this realm, unreality blends with reality in a strange way. Unfortunately, you really do have to have a mathematical background to truly appreciate the phenomenon you see here.
General Relativity is a realm totally opposite of quantum mechanics, as it deals with objects in our universe. Partial differential equations are able to predict space and time of objects. Einstein is perhaps the pioneer of this study. General relativity introduces what Einstein called the 4th dimension known to us as time and made the amazing claim that gravitation is actually the curvature of space and time.
String theory tries to unite these two concepts into one theorem as part of the search to find "The Ultimate Equation," which I particularly doubt we will find. It's hypothesis is that electrons and the quarks that make up an atom (which make up elements, which then make up chemical structures, then cells) are 1-dimensional "strings" rather than simply points. As xkcd jokes, the theory does not have a useful stance...yet. But this IS the future of physics.
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A comment on Conversation: Can anyone explain to me what 'string theory' is?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory
http://superstringtheory.com/
And...you can actually watch the entire "Elegant Universe" here!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/elegant-universe.html
A comment on Conversation: Can anyone explain to me what 'string theory' is?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/conversation-with-brian-greene.html (If you like Brian Greene, check out this interview)
Also, you should watch Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe" which seeks to educate the general public on the mysteries that physicists such as Stephen Hawking try to solve.
If you want to understand the universe you will encounter two branches of theoretical physics:
1. Quantum Mechanics
2. General Relativity
Quantum Mechanics seeks to understand the smallest particles in the universe, even smaller than the atom. In this realm, there is something called the "Uncertainty Principle." It says the closer you get to a particle, the less you know about its motion. Strange? Definitely--the quantum mechanics realm is perhaps as strange as you can get! Particles literally teleport from place to place all the time. In this realm, unreality blends with reality in a strange way. Unfortunately, you really do have to have a mathematical background to truly appreciate the phenomenon you see here.
General Relativity is a realm totally opposite of quantum mechanics, as it deals with objects in our universe. Partial differential equations are able to predict space and time of objects. Einstein is perhaps the pioneer of this study. General relativity introduces what Einstein called the 4th dimension known to us as time and made the amazing claim that gravitation is actually the curvature of space and time.
String theory tries to unite these two concepts into one theorem as part of the search to find "The Ultimate Equation," which I particularly doubt we will find. It's hypothesis is that electrons and the quarks that make up an atom (which make up elements, which then make up chemical structures, then cells) are 1-dimensional "strings" rather than simply points. As xkcd jokes, the theory does not have a useful stance...yet. But this IS the future of physics.