Why String Theory is Right

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Some see string theory as the one great hope for a theory of everything - that it will unite quantum mechanics and gravity and so unify all of physics into one glorious theory.
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Hosted by Matt O'Dowd
Written by Matt O'Dowd
Graphics by Luke Maroldi
Assistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike Petrow
Made by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com)
Why has string theory been the obsession of a generation of theoretical physicists? What exactly is so compelling about tiny, vibrating strings? In our last string theory episode I talked about what these things really are, and covered some history. In short: the strings of string theory are literal strands and loops that vibrate with standing waves. Simply by changing the vibrational mode you get different particles - analogous to how different vibrational modes on guitar strings gives different notes. And, by the way, strings exist in 6 compact spatial dimensions on top of the familiar 3.
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سلطان الخليفي

[@zoralink37]

PBS Space Time: Why String Theory is right Also PBS Space Time: Why String Theory is wrong Schrödingers cat: and i thought i was weird

[@Tom_Quixote]

Would you feel better if they were called "Arguments for string theory" and "Arguments against string theory"?

[@dustysoodak]

Even more confusing is that the fact that both episodes exist just increases the probability that both contain high quality information.

[@FeedEgg]

They are both true...it depends on whether the particles moving or not lol booooooweeeeeoooooo *spooky noises*

[@brianawilk285]

He's just giving the arguments to make up your mind for yourself. All of this theoretical physics is designed to promote free thinking

[@tanvijha5736]

I'm playing both sides so that u always come on top

[@thejesuschrist]

Personally, I would like to see more peer reviewed evidence. Until then, it’s fun to think about.

[@SomeGod]

You really are everywhere lol

[@chuckschickbaldtacos]

Jesus Christ do you see my jerking off right now?

[@jmcsquared18]

Jesus wants to see peer reviewed evidence. That's rich 😂😂

[@hamishtanner3571]

@@jmcsquared18 thats the joke

[@jries77]

@Jesus Christ, all the evidence you need for string theory is in one book. Granted the book is made up of a bunch of other books but that's all the evidence you need. And don't you dare say that's begging the question, I don't even know what circular reasoning is.

[@gandalf_thegrey]

"Quantum mechanics can't tell us if anybody cares" This made me laugh out loud, it's was so perfectly executed.

[@RC_Engineering]

Same! Hilarious

[@maximbogdanovic1729]

Everything is vibrations , I really saw that while on acid

[@StacyForest738]

Maxim Bogdanovic off topic but Netflix has a great show about acid and psychedelics right now. If you ever did acid, you will love the Netflix documentary.

[@maximbogdanovic1729]

An Alternate Perspective yeah that was great

[@maximbogdanovic1729]

An Alternate Perspective also the first episode of midnight rendezvous they talk about psychs , you should check that out too :)

[@glovere2]

It’s funny you say that, and perhaps you are being facetious, but I experienced the same thing while tripping in the early 70s. Everything in my field of view-my friends, furniture, trees-I perceived as bundles of vibrating strings. Along with that was what I might have called music, but it was more subtle than that. It was the most amazing and awe-inspiring experience I’ve ever had. I flashed on it many years ago when I learned about string theory. Obviously, the real strings are far too tiny to perceive and it was an hallucination after all, but I remember my being resonating with the universe and the experience-something that I could describe as a symphony in which I was an instrument-lasted for hours. It almost makes me want to go on another trip again just to go back to it.

[@MarcA75]

On my first Trip, I meditated and saw a Torus. Before this trip, I didn't even know what a torus is and months later I accidentally found out what it is. I'm still a bit confused about the meaning of this. I tripped a good amount of Times but had just a few of these out-of-the-norm Visions.

[@bookdream]

The most consistently high quality / high information / highly illuminating physics videos on KZbin, I wish this level of free content was out when I was younger.

[@TheKotaCan]

I wish my school gave me this kind of education growing up.

[@Omar-em7rl]

@@TheKotaCan they still don't, graduated highschool in 2013, i would know.

[@TheRishijoesanu]

Ikr? I feel jealous of the current generation. I was fairly good at Math back in school. Had I access to videos like this back then I would have definitely pursued an academic route towards theoretical Physics or Math (shout out to PBS Infinite Series and 3Blue1Brown) instead of my current masters in finance.

[@apekillssnake]

I was thinking the same. If I would have just had the internet growing up! It came too late and the youth today just use it for social media and are not up for the Job, being drenched in Social Justice, so Sad!

[@quimicalobo61d]

me too...like [-87years] :)

[@sinecurve9999]

"The main job of theoretical physics is to prove yourself wrong as soon as possible." Richard Feynman

[@fulalbatross]

@Steven Moore Narrowing down possibilities, basically. Since there's nothing stopping you from making some truly outrageous statements, a lot has to be laid to rest asap, as to not have the entire discussion sailing away into absurdity. Got to remember that, in science, a null result is just as valid and useful a result as any other. I'm sure someone can put it more elegantly and precise, though.

[@DayZJ]

Steven Moore if you can find a way to see why your wrong sooner, the sooner you can start on a new correct theory

[@peterbulyaki]

Yes, assuming your theory is at least falsifiable.

[@daviddelaney2407]

It's the entire point of scientific method, Steven: not "to find what is right and enshrine it", but rather "to figure out which things are wrong, and mark them so future generations don't need to re-walk those same paths". --Dave, and when EVERYTHING you know is wrong, somewhere you've missed something

[@dekippiesip]

That's the job of any discipline of science.

[@bbket9618]

the guy in the video: Schrödingers equation is the easiest one me: starts sweating nervously...

[@joelewis8416]

me : I should sleep early tonight me at 3am : why string theory is correct

[@LeonMartins]

I'm actually intrigued with the string theory, but any time I think about it I still ear the sentence of R.P.Feynman:'' It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.''

[@osimmac]

but that's just science, Newtonian physics is technically wrong but it still has plenty of application, so could string theory.

[@MrFloom]

We also can’t test out anything in string theory.

[@MrMultiMediat0r]

But it doesn't disagree with experiment. It's currently untestable and neither agrees nor disagrees. But it is internally consistent and the best candidate for unifying all areas of physics

[@kenlogsdon7095]

@@MrMultiMediat0r Exploding with self-interaction infinities is hardly what I would call "internally consistent".

[@TheSolarScience]

Exactly! In a post above I describe Hafele Keating e periment which conclusively proves that space-time does not exist .. ,yet physicists just carry on with their mathturbation. Dumb bankrupt science that has abandoned the scientific method.

[@davidroddini1512]

I would like to see a video/series on the 4 alternative theories to string theory: 1. Loop Quantum Gravity 2. Asymptotically Safe Gravity 3. Causal Dynamical Triangulations and 4. Emergent gravity It would be interesting to see what advantages/disadvantages each has in comparison to String Theory

[@OpportunisticHunter]

dimensions

[@adolfodef]

_"Chevron One, encoded."_

[@web3733]

@@OpportunisticHunter I mean really if you think about it, quantum mechanics is a whole different dimension, whether it's the fields we cannot even measure, or the very nucleus of an atom. It will be interesting to see the unification of blackhole levels of gravity on a relativy scale to the quantum world and how a singularity can show the proof of that pillar of science.. crazy stuff..

[@benapple9587]

don't forget quantum field theory

[@TheMrVogue]

Yes, this please... There's this sneaking suspicion that modern physics may be shaking a fruitless tree with string theory, given how long we've been at it... With that said, even fruitless trees can be ultimately made fruitful in science, and the roots of science are fraught with this very same scenario. So, perhaps the most optimal path to finding the solution we seek lies in the less popular models. There's also that nagging question of whether we've even been blinded by our current perspective on physics and perhaps we're not looking at things the "right" way. So I say, for the sake of finding the shortest path, let's get people more acquainted with the alternatives to get more people trying different approaches!

[@sdgfasdf7831]

I feel like I need a PhD in all the PhDs to understand this

[@MrTheclevercat]

You don't. It's intentionally paradoxical.

[@Curiouzzz750]

You’re not meant to

[@willinton06]

Once you get the first PhD you’ll understand that you’re not supposed to fully understand this

[@nilszeebe3773]

I believe we arent the first suggesting it, symbols arround the world are also capable of leading you into that math, so no phd required - some greeks tho were takin potions of madness and other to find "truth". Its up to you guys what you´ll do with this.

[@bigsmall246]

It's just a bunch of math

[@daystocomeofficial2658]

I just wanna appreciate the fact that somehow this madlad always finds a way to Segway his script into the ending word "spacetime" EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

[@d3fau1thmph]

SEGUE

[@tommasotiberi5666]

Man I just noticed...he really does find space for that every time

[@frtzkng]

TFW he says _spacetime_ mid episode and the episode ends early

[@juwitzke]

Wtf I’ve never noticed that omg

[@quahntasy]

It is said that papers in string theory are published at a rate greater than the speed of light. This, however, is not problematic since no information is being transmitted. Geeks will get the joke. I am sorry lol.

[@adamtaylor1739]

Most people who watched this video will get this joke... But good joke!

[@TheMarkofZio]

Oooooof

[@william41017]

That's a spooky reference!

[@albevanhanoy]

Sick burn.

[@SiriusAundB]

Hahahaha...look I'm laughing...I get the joke which means I'm a geek...hahahaha...I'm very smart, it's not just me saying that, my mother verified that fact independently.

[@kobiromano6115]

OMG that joke at the end was the best physics joke in history. Possibly due to the flawless delivery. It's like the entire video was a setup in a serious voice for one single joke. I am as much a comedian as I am a quantum physicist, but you sir, are both.

[@talhatariqyuluqatdis]

Ay ur a quantumn physicist? Did u watch ant man? Is it like that?

[@kingdom1682]

@@talhatariqyuluqatdis haha xD

[@AntonAdelson]

That joke was savage!!

[@kingrobert1st]

I didn't get to the end.

[@radiumXnl]

@@kingrobert1st I skipped right to the end.

[@pluspiping]

I was very into physics, the universe, and cosmology in the 90s and 00s in gradeschool and college. If this channel had been around back then, I would have been OBSESSED. I'm subscribing right now!! Instead, back then, we only had Kingdom Hearts Random Crap videos on KZbin ...Which was a great fun time, but it did not teach me about string theory lol

[@joshshaw9443]

I missed the part that explained why string theory is right.

[@ryanfoley2939]

Omg this noose theory is killing me.

[@allenrhoades8482]

You have to watch the "Why String Theory is Wrong" to learn the arguments for why it is right :)

[@nightmareTomek]

@@allenrhoades8482 You advert machine. Well I watched it and haven't found the argument. Seems to me like string theory is just beautiful, but we haven't discovered anything at all that could even suggest that it's correct.

[@JoeyFaller]

@@ryanfoley2939 HAHAHAHAHA

[@egregiousqueef7781]

... something about gravity

[@mikenorval6331]

It feels right ... then again so do cheeseburgers

[@bunberrier]

😁

[@happygimp0]

@Texas Faggot We have to exploit and kill animals for it and they are not healthy.

[@Marcus-Lim]

ggzh a Argue With Everyone but yummy

[@happygimp0]

@brandi loveee They don't want to die. I also want to ask you, what is wrong with killing humans?

[@happygimp0]

@brandi loveee Do you think killing other humans is fine when it isn't illegal?

[@mattomanx77]

That last bit, "Quantum mechanics can't tell us whether anyone cares" Golden!

[@stephan2796]

That got dark real quick!

[@odoglafford9650]

Underrated

[@LuisSierra42]

Actually, quantum mechanics forbids this

[@odoglafford9650]

@@LuisSierra42 what part

[@bagusnaga01]

Watching tall Peter Dinklage explaining string theory just made my day

[@enderwiggins8248]

I love when they delve into the mathematics of quantum mechanics in this channel. Too many explanations are over-hand wavy on KZbin and this channel breaks that successfully. Even if I don’t understand most of the equations being a freshman undergraduate, I can at least say “Oh look that A term at 9:13 is something I saw in E&M, where curl A = B”

[@Dinoenthusiastguy]

I absolutely adore this series. As an undergrad in physics, I find it difficult to find people describing advanced physics theories without either being overly qualitative and "pop-sci" or it going right over my head, but the level of these videos is just perfect!

[@IhateCCP]

be careful though, string theory is all based on celebrity 'science' . it is the biggest mistake in physics to date.

[@dakotaneumann1259]

As a fellow physics undergrad, I completely agree! I feel that just because oh how classes are structured make it difficult to actually develop new ideas or analyze less popular ones while taking said class.

[@mambu6]

Well string theory has created good mathematics so even if it isn’t the right physical theory it has helped mathematicians

[@Dinoenthusiastguy]

@@IhateCCP I wouldn't be so sure just yet! What makes you so sure it's wrong? Much more promising that its rival theories IMO :)

[@technologyandinnovation4586]

No jobs in Physics. Make sure you learn to code, learn to use database packages, get online certification courses. If you can't put Tableau, Python, Java .... you won't find a job. PhD? Very competitive unless your grad work is with some world famous scientist. Good Luck

[@sulmaenya]

6:27 "Schrodinger's equation is the first and easiest example." I am getting out of here.

[@rOceanIngle]

I wonder what kind of solution/value they get that tells them about extra dimensions? 😂

[@sm4rt170]

i feel you buddy

[@lolgamez9171]

Ight I'ma head out

[@leea8706]

I can’t see you, so you have left and not left at the same time, or something.

[@leea8706]

I know, wrong thing, but shh

[@tahunuva4254]

String theory: reality is basically music! Tolkien: fffffffudge yeah!

[@jeremiahschaefer9771]

And ✝he devil was the Angel In charge of music 🎶&worship.... Jealously is a...........👀

[@tahunuva4254]

@@jeremiahschaefer9771 I mean, he wasn't technically in charge of the music, he was one voice in the choir. A discordant voice, but a single voice all the same.

[@tahunuva4254]

@John Bradey Birds certainly have a use for it. I highly doubt that nice patterns in the frequency and modulation of air waves is something only humans recognise :P

[@m.harris3852]

"but that seems like a hell of an extra thing to add to make your theory wok", no more extreme or unusual than a "magical, mysterious" form of matter that is invisible and completely undetectable, and only interacts with our universe via gravity, or a "magical, mysterious" form of energy that is again undetectable and causes our entire universe to expand at an accelerated rate.

[@electroflame6188]

*_"Quantum mechanics can't tell us whether anyone cares."_*

[@Bpaynes]

Electroflame 618 hahahaha

[@matrixarsmusicworkshop561]

But it can

[@charlesbeaudry3263]

In the scale of the universe nothing we do on earth matters in any way.

[@rfichokeofdestiny]

I knew a joke was coming but that line completely took me by surprise. I literally LOLed.

[@vinak963]

@@rfichokeofdestiny I knew it was coming and I still laughed. The deadpan of the joke did me in.

[@robharwood3538]

Dude, the fact that you can talk about this stuff and we can follow it, even if it's just the gist of it, is astounding. You are truly in the same league as Sagan, as a science communicator. Kudos! 😊👍

[@Dude_Slick]

I agree. Just like Carl Sagan, he presents the purely speculative as though it's a known reality.

[@freddan65gbg24]

This guy is so intelligent and brilliantly pedagogical in explaining these extremely difficult physics so that an interested amateur like myself has a chance of perhaps understanding small parts of it. I don't know his name but he ought to be a professor in theoretical physics at a university in Australia.

[@altareggo]

SpaceTime Guy: The Shroedinger equation is the simplest of these early attempts to understand [something or the other]. Shows equation. Me: ummmm......... okey...... [mentally backs away from the equation].

[@StefSubZero270]

Its really not hard, its difficulty varies from what you want to calculate. If you have a free particle with a certain polarization and want to see how its egeinstate evolves if you throw with through a polarizator you just have to apply the time evolution operator to the initial state and see how it evolves. Thats easy. Completely different is if you want to use it on the hydrogen atom for example, that requires a lot more work, the system is an interacting one (electron and neutron), you have a big ass hamiltonian with interaction term and spin contribution terms and gotta do some variable separation and using legendré polynomials. It can be as easy as a walk in the park as it can be very difficult and long

[@bamb8s436]

@@StefSubZero270 Flexin that knowledge aren t u?🤣

[@JET7C0]

@@bamb8s436 Without showing off - it's kind of true it's a lot simpler than it looks, in that all those symbols refer to variables, and then once you know them and plug them in, it's just all about following the order of operations, and solving the equation. If it had x's and y's rather than Greek symbols, etc., it would probably look simpler.

[@bamb8s436]

@@JET7C0 i m Greek so it would look simpler for me lol

[@JET7C0]

​@@bamb8s436 Awesome. So for example letters like ψ in the equation stand for the wave function, but knowing what that is and how to determine it, plus what all the other variables stand for and actually mean, then how to determine their values first if necessary, plus knowing why/when you even need to do all this, etc., clearly takes a a ton of time (and often money for schooling, in the US at least), so it's hilarious to see someone act like that's common knowledge in order to show off and be all, "You just have to apply the time evolution operator if you want to know the particle's eigenstate DUHHHH" like any random person will then immediately understand, lol.

[@JGrant60]

He did his best to explain but i have no idea what he was talking about.

[@En_theo]

Nah I think they just stopped trying to make it vulgarized. All their last videos are like that, they got lazy I think.

[@Bobby-fj8mk]

I don't understand it. It would take 10 years of learning to know what he's talking about. Is there anything practical coming from this knowledge? e.g why does a neutron outside an atom have a half life of about 10 minutes? Does string theory tell me why? What I do like about string theory is that it can explain neutrinos - perhaps they exist in other dimensions & that's why they can pass straight through normal matter - and also what about dark matter? - perhaps the same principle!

[@ht3k]

I'm not a theoretical physicist either but I understand what he's talking about because I've been following quantum physics for years. I've had to read and reread different explanations of these concepts which then builds up to videos like these which is when you'll be able to understand what he's talking about

[@hihtitmamnan]

@@Bobby-fj8mk i don't think neutron's disintegration falsifies string theory at all. if it did, anyone would use it as an argument against the hypothesis. Also, it's pretty naive to say it explains neutrinos going through other dimensions, that just sounds stupid. My hypothesis about neutrinos is that they are just so small that nothing can block it. They are like bullets - they are fast and small so they penetrate anything. Or like electromagnetic waves - some of them go through matter easily (I'm not saying neutrinos are waves... but they might be...). "Might" is a sad word overall...

[@Bobby-fj8mk]

@@hihtitmamnan - but why do free neutrons decay with a half life off 10 minutes? Also - just saying that neutrinos are small & that's why they can travel through the whole Earth or even the Sun without being stopped sounds more stupid than my theory of them existing in other dimensions.

[@dnzssrl]

We're getting part by part string theory videos, you wouldn't imagine how many people have been waiting for that day we're so happy :D

[@frankschneider6156]

LOLL'I579 Why should anyone be happy about videos about a mathematical cult, that has absolutely nothing to do with natural sciences and the scientific method, but is just kept alive for egoistical purposes, because people bet their career on something and now won't acknowledge that they wasted the majority of their career by betting on the wrong horse ? String theory is a mathematical religion and exactly as scientific as e.g Christianity or Satanism: not at all. It even formally doesn't classify as a scientific theory at all. It's in principle scientific junk. Our current level of understanding in theoretical physics is at roughly the same level as at the begin of the 1970s. This means roughly 50 years of scientific stagnation, which is mostly due to string theory. Waste all your resources and crap and and you won't get anything out of it. Continuing to do so would be incredibly dumb. But I guess this stupid idea will only be overcome after Witten's death. And the argument "It's so beautiful. it must be true" can't come from real natural scientists, but at best from pseudo-scientists who believe they would be real natural scientists, but are in reality children playing with mathematics.

[@ramkumarr1725]

The visualization you're describing is a common representation of string theory in popular science media and some educational materials. In these depictions, instead of a one-dimensional thread, a string is often depicted as a three-dimensional pipe-like structure extending into higher-dimensional space. This representation helps to convey the idea that the string is not a point particle but has some spatial extent ChatGPT

[@stevedavy2878]

I understood everything up to the point where you said " string theory"

[@frantisekstehlik6888]

ha, I understood less, the intro says pbs digital studios and I have no idea what pbs stands for.

[@IuliusPsicofactum]

There is a very strong psychological effect when the last "... spacetime." is said in each episode. It's a perfect closure that makes you feel satisfied and happy for what we just experienced. Otherwise we'll be not able to feel the episode finished and we'll be all angry and upset because it had an end, and we all know there is no end for spacetime.

[@autonomouspublishingincorp8241]

And zero evidence of a physical correlation of space and time.

[@upgrade1583]

@@autonomouspublishingincorp8241 time only exists when space is observed. If you need proof think of before you were born or when you sleep.

[@autonomouspublishingincorp8241]

@@upgrade1583 To say time only exists when space is observed is to declare that anything not observed does not exist. Not only is that not scientific, it's straight up ignorant.

[@upgrade1583]

@@autonomouspublishingincorp8241 As if 10 billion years passed and here we are at the fun bit

[@upgrade1583]

​@@autonomouspublishingincorp8241night time traveller... lol

[@Chad_Thundercock]

16:36 Absolutely savage. I appreciate it when Matt works some snark in to these.

[@wraithgear4216]

This is explained in a way that makes the hard to grasp string theory seem like a lot of shortcut guess work to make others work fit into a conclusion that seems neat.

[@jgin9073]

I really like the ending. He actually had me following that

[@user-bl4oq7fd8d]

I lol'ed when I heard the word Gedankenexperiment in the end there... As a German it's always funny to hears those radom words being used in English :P

[@sadderwhiskeymann]

meaning??

[@patryk2535]

Thought experiment

[@volbla]

Borrowed words can sound kind of out of place. Like how english doesn't have an original word for shadenfreude.

[@mzamethodman7134]

@@volbla wtf is a shadenfruede thingy

[@MegaFonebone]

MZA Method Man, it’s German for the guilty pleasure you feel when something bad happens to people who don’t just Google it.

[@olefiend]

Please do a video like this on quantum loop gravity. The idea of the quantization of space itself is facinating. It from bit.

[@olefiend]

@Arthur Holland I'm just happy there are multiple approaches to tackle this problem. Even if string theory is 'wrong', some beautiful math has emerged from its pursuit.

[@chrissonofpear3657]

I agree. I found Lee Smolin's description of some the concepts very fascinating, myself (in the book Time Reborn)

[@gokhanavdan]

The elegance of this elegantly designed top-notch elegant video about the elegant elegance of string theory is one elegantly elegance on its own.

[@tonybarrera2897]

Thanks! Very good about the Schroedinger equation and local phase invariance!

[@xThirdOpsx]

Am I the only who tought that string theory had been confirmed because of the title?

[@moraleja39]

I thought, before clicking on the video, that the next's one title would be "Why String Theory is Wrong"

[@emjaymj]

Yes

[@emjaymj]

@@moraleja39 Me too!

[@jordangraupmann6424]

Yes, if string theory was proved, we’d hear all about it in the news and everywhere, we would know the fundamental structure and mechanics of reality, that’s sort of a big deal

[@timo4258]

Yes

[@TravisR1982]

Matt, I have often wondered about those extra dimensions; do they need to be tangible in the way that up down, left right, and forward are? Or could they also be less tangible, like roll, pitch, and yaw that describe mechanical motion, but are not really dimensions per se. I'm not a string theorist, i'm just wondering if some of those extra six dimensions might describe the wave length, frequency, and precession of these strings... not actual spacial dimensions...

[@kennethadkins8432]

I would say it still could give something where we have dark energetic interactions with string theroy. I want to see if strings like waves that particles interact with vibrations to be oddly like a mixture sound and light/energy....being a bit weirder and maybe faster as fabric of space. Look more at higgs,.but electrons work oddly to where it's faster than light communication. Wish my math was better to try to bring something together

[@web3733]

These vids have got my mind rolling. I know I'm just a wee layman. New to science, thanks to space time. Things with viscosity. When you stretch liquids with volume (not sure if I'm getting that correctly) you get strings of that volume. It would seem to me that the volume of the universe would do the same. I think both loop gravity and string theory might make up a unified theory. Could be wrong but my Astros just went down two games in the WS.. my mind is searching for answers 🤣

[@Razordreamz]

Love hearing about this, wish I could understand more of it as most of it goes over my head unfortunately.

[@RazorbackPT]

Your motion graphics designer left the tiltshift blur layer on for the whole video.

[@jahrazzjahrazz8858]

did he maybe want to apply it to the background only but he fucked everything up?

[@zemdu3506]

Yeah, lots of distracting blur on this video. Thought it was still 480p.

[@combatking0]

I can't stand Blur. Or Oasis. The entire genre of Britpop really gets on my nerves.

[@specialsnowflake9172]

@Tom Golden But then will he become a god of a shrinking universe?

[@combatking0]

@Tom Golden Because the muscles in my legs are incapable of generating enough force for my body to reach escape velocity. Perhaps yours are strong enough?

[@ramkumarr1725]

The typical depiction of string theory often resembles a pipe or a tap, with lines representing strings extending and interacting in various ways. This visualization helps illustrate the concept of vibrating strings and their interactions, similar to how water flows through pipes or taps. However, it's important to note that these diagrams are symbolic representations used to convey complex mathematical concepts rather than literal depictions of physical structures. ChatGPT 🌹

[@tresnasoaduonmulatuanapitu6615]

Chill down guys, they will make future video, "why string theory is wrong" 1:53

[@Monochromicornicopia]

They did. It also makes zero sense

[@c.darwin9259]

GDI as in it alone doesn’t or neither vids do? If the former I’m sorry but string theory is pretty outlandish.

[@smergthedargon8974]

10:17 Matt, what happened to your voice? Why does it sound like Electro Satan is grumbling in the distance?

[@jewlzpwns101]

I heard that too lol I was hoping I wasn't turning into a schizo

[@benbyrd4552]

What’s really worrying is how few people noticed apparently

[@blueocean8984]

It made me wanna clear my throat

[@lukasd.4389]

yeah, thats weird

[@irokosalei5133]

Matt isn't human...

[@quosswimblik4489]

A hybrid of point particles and strings would be a point particle with memory such that when they interact the point particles curve in their path as if there is a remembered occilation effect from a near collision. Like threads instead of strings.

[@OrdenJust]

Interesting idea. Maybe not memory, per se. Maybe instead a string vibration not in space, but instead a vibration in time, which swings from the future, through the present, into the past, and back.

[@quosswimblik4489]

A very small transient point particle called a gravaton might be what particles are made of and every other force might have an underlying gravitational model. Sort of have way between a string and a point particle.

[@nelsonx5326]

String theory has me in knots.

[@kevinslattery5748]

Relax, it's KNOT what you think, it's what you do.

[@TheSolarScience]

Space tome does not exist according to Hafele Keating experiment ...yet physicists persist in their mathturbating ways. What happened to the scientific merhod?

[@nelsonx5326]

@@TheSolarScience What did Hafele do as an experiment, jump into a lava spewing volcano and nothing happened? You know Jim Carry the actor who had some kind of spiritual breakthrough and everywhere he goes now he says "None of this is real, none of this exists"? Now remember that false nuclear attack alarm in Hawaii a few months back, Jim Carry lives in Hawaii and he didn't act like none of this is real when that happened. Right here now I'm typing in time and living in space, I don't see how such can be denied. How long did it take Hafele to reach his conclusion and how big was his laboratory? Space and time might be the only thing that exists and the rest an illusion it created to entertain itself. Even projecting the existence of Hafele to deny its own existence was a big laugh around the non existent campfire. I have a theory, the moment time and space recognizes its own existence is the moment it will cease to exist. I find all of this interesting and bizarre as can be. Animals might only live in 3 dimensions, because they can only recognize 3 dimensions doesn't mean the 4th doesn't exist. Here we are in full recognition of the idea of time, can fathom time, and wondering if it exists. Fathom isn't the right word, understand isn't the right word, what is the right word? I wrote a song called, "I need a new theory". It sucks.

[@LordMichaelRahl]

What about loop quantum gravity though? Carlo Rovelli has me questioning string theory a bit lately (along with the lack of findings of any supersymmetric particle partners).

[@LordMichaelRahl]

@@BC-jq8fg No, but I happen to have read quite a bit on these subjects.

[@crab_computer]

@@BC-jq8fg Who the fuck asks questions using a dot at the end of their sentence?

[@johnmatelski6413]

these videos are terrific for showing people who think they understand modern physics that they in fact do not understand it at all. the mathematical background you would need to understand what is being said (and not be kidding yourself) is seriously vast.

[@matthewwriter9539]

5:00 if I put a pin in these world sheets, will that create a wormhole?

[@shanestrickland5006]

Will we meat Morgan Freeman on the other side? Who knows ?

[@mattie.f00]

"Why string theory is right." KZbin: Up Next - "Why string theory is wrong." ...by the same channel.

[@nightmareTomek]

clickbait.

[@velocity1146]

That’s science for ya, and it’s called string theory not string fact!

[@reav3rtm]

@@velocity1146 Actually you got it wrong because "string theory" is a misnomer. Properly, it should have been called string hypothesis. Theory in science is a hypothesis that is already proven (given information and instruments available at the time, it doesn't mean it's absolutely true, science doesn't make claims about absolute). In science there are no really such things as facts as 'new science' can invalidate 'old science' as it happened many times.

[@JonahNelson7]

@@reav3rtm isn't something that's proven a law?

[@reav3rtm]

@@JonahNelson7 Yes and no. (scientific) law is just a brief description of phenomenon explained by (scientific) theory, in ex in a form of equation. Doesn't answer "how" and may be inaccurate just like the theory that proposed it. It's not stronger version of theory rather part of it. Theory says how/why it happens and is proven (but may be inaccurate/wrong in doing so) while hypothesis only speculates on why it happens. Hypothesis may propose own equations, but it needs to be proven and elevated to theory in order for these equations to become laws. Scientific fact on the other hand has ever less detail but is not disputed or invalidated, it's description of phenomenon. In ex "every human on Earth surface and near enough above it experiences downward force" is a scientific fact.

[@1495978707]

At 8:42, you forgot the Laplacian in the Schrodinger equation. Also, the second equation doesn't have "an extra term", it is just the equation made from the Hamiltonian for a charged particle in electric and magnetic fields. The conjugate momentum is not the same as the conjugate momentum for a free particle. Also, I don't know what the sigma in that second equation is. So, why do we use the Hamiltonian for a charged particle in electric and magnetic fields? Is it just because that's generally what you use the Schrodinger equation to calculate?

[@MrDunkelBerry]

It's Pauli's equation, basically Dirac's non relativistic limit. The sigma is the vector of Pauli matrices. I think it was developed by forcing gauge invariance on Schrodinger's and the new terms were identified with the EM field.

[@MrDunkelBerry]

You can rearrange Pauli's equation to become Schrodinger's + a term that describes the Stern-Gerlach experiment (an interaction between the magnetic field B and spin matrices)

[@1495978707]

@@MrDunkelBerry How can it be a limit of Dirac's equation? What you are saying makes sense, but the Dirac equation is a four component vector equation, and Schrodinger is a scalar equation, so how does that work out?

[@KutWrite]

Love the dry sense of humo(u)r like the mime in the box.

[@copernicus6420]

This theory is so compelling and attractive because it provides an understandable, logical and pictorial explanation for a lot of strange interactions at the quantum level. You can't help thinking that it should be correct.

[@jasoncruz19800]

Classical physics is the same. Before Einstein's views were tested in 1919, it was treated the same way as string theory. And string theory is testable, just not yet due to lack of engineering proficiency

[@copernicus6420]

@@jasoncruz19800 I totally agree with you.

[@ado4224]

Imagine him not understanding anything he says. That would be so hard to do/learn.

[@ChessCat1500]

😂😂😂

[@spacemarts]

I think you're missing the Laplacian in the Schrodinger equation Hamiltonian

[@Clean0rsVids]

They do. Great content anyways :)

[@malik-xq6kl]

I have five questions about the multiverse theory (Super Membranes and Eleven-Dimensional Supergravity) Do the Supermembranes have different physical laws? Do some Supermembranes have a positive cosmological constant? The third question Do the Supermembranes need additional theories and models in order to link them to the three theories (The Higgs boson, supersymmetry, and quantum mechanics)? Can the (Super Membranes and Eleven-Dimensional Supergravity) theory explain the appearance of dark energy after the formation of stars and galaxies? The fifth question about the differences in the physical constants between the (Supermembranes ) How are different physical laws formed in multiple membranes? We ask physicists to use appropriate theories to develop (super-branes) In order to extract the predictions of the developed theory of membranes and in order to explain the Big Bang theory without the need for branes to collide and cosmic inflation. Send these requests as well as the five questions to theoretical physicists

[@rtrThanos]

It’s making more and more sense, especially when you consider recent advances in quantum communications by China. Keep in mind that a genius like Einstein observed “spooky action at a distance” that he couldn’t explain at the time, yet we’re starting to understand how quantum entanglement works.

[@olivierwesterheide881]

Can you guys make an update video about Oumuamua given the new findings?

[@Dentariunoux]

@Jim lastname it's a cylindrical asteroid that flew past our sun on a parabolic arc and then accelerated out of the solar system with no evidence of it being a comet or solar sail.

[@heliosscience6572]

String Theory is one of the most interesting topics in theoretical physics today. It's verification could lead to an understanding of the universe that would open incredible doors. I am excited to see what all these brilliant scientists will come up with in the coming years.

[@heliosscience6572]

@@BC-jq8fg Actually I have a rough understanding of how it is done. But I am a so called “layman“. As to your suggestion for adding disclaimers, I stated not a false fact or anything of that sort, but rather a personal opinion, which doesnt need a disclaimer.

[@IhateCCP]

String theory is what is wrong with science today. It is lead by celebrity rather than evidence and experiments. String theory is the biggest mistake theorist are making today.

[@thanksforthacheese5977]

No.

[@HomerChiotakos]

@@IhateCCP You're one to talk, Mr "Love Jesus"... like the resurrection was peer-reviewed. Do you know what else was led by celebrity and not experiment, by any chance?

[@niktak4658]

Όμηρος Χιωτάκος good one lol

[@TheAngryIntellect-]

I have a theory.. or more of a thought.. time is also a loop, not the path we take, but the underlying particles or fabric of time is like a large wheel, and think of us and space as the track above it.. like a tank track, the track moved forward but the wheels under the track pushing it forward go round and round.. I believe it's possible to drop an information particle as I call it, into a set time and have the past you perceive that information.. What use is that? Well if you keep sending the past you information about current you or events, eventually the current you will get information from future you, has something to do with frequencies, so far I notice it's easy to send/receive info from only yourself because your brain is of the same frequency. But if you could amplify or shift the frequency your brain runs on, it could be possible to perceive information from other people that may also be sending information back to themselves.

[@livintolearn7053]

That apple tree joke just made my day! I'm dying LMAO

[@amdenis]

I was totally excited about string theory, but it met with a catastrophic end for me when my cat, Schrodinger, stole the whole ball.

[@danielwebb8402]

"Never made a testable prediction" genius

[@Kitsudote]

10:35 this would've been a way better logo for X.

[@liamj2528]

What I love most is when Philosophy and Physics mix!

[@trevorbelmont9008]

Can you imagine god coding the universe. How many tries must have taken for it to run properly with no bugs.

[@motherofdoggos3209]

He is God. Just one.

[@francistherrien]

I just catched the joke at the end, this is indeed brilliant 🤣

[@chrismcgarry3160]

4:47 String Worldsheet That "Schrodinger's Cat" joke at the end gets me every time 🤣

[@92587wayne]

A Sting is more or less a line, like a chorus line, a series of individualists all in a row, a series of singularities having a numerical value of of zero-0 which being in a series instantaneously are converted into singularities having a numerical value of One-1.

[@juanmf]

Well, if it’s true that two entangled particles interact across distance, it might make sense that there are more dimensions, on at least one the particles are actually touching each other, being far away in the 3 we perceive 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@IonianGarden]

A string theorist and a particle physicists walks into h bar.

[@daviddelaney2407]

The (bar)tender says "You're on the wrong quantum level, dudes.". --Dave, on the way out, they fall down a step function

[@royk7712]

@@daviddelaney2407 it's irrelevant where I am lmao

[@jaymatt1569]

The string theorist does and does not buy beer

[@deluxeassortment]

Dirac's theory has so many _holes_ in it

[@squiremuldoon5462]

Whoever gets the research grant pays the tab.

[@juwitzke]

I would love a video of Matt and Brian Greene discussing about string theory

[@FastRamyun]

I have a question for Matt. I'm wondering: if you accounted for the vibrating strings within string theory not as 6 dimensions, but instead as three (which would kinda make sense for a vibrating string), then, when you graphed the 3 dimensions of particles with the 3 dimensions of space, wouldn't that give you 9 dimensions? Moreover, if you represent both space and particles on an x, y, graph (each as a single dimension on the graph) then you don't need a dimension to represent time, as time would just be movement of particles in space. I am just very confused as to why a particle would ever need 6 dimensions.

[@manjsher3094]

Yea but can the theory explain Diablo on a mobile ph.??? I thought not.

[@artking2220]

Don't you have a phone???

[@manjsher3094]

@@artking2220 and...

[@AnalyticalReckoner]

"Don't you have a cake???" --Marie Antionette

[@manjsher3094]

@@AnalyticalReckoner watching my Swedish boy figure.

[@artking2220]

@Manj Sher If you didn't get what i said, then you don't know all of the story lol Look it up. This monstrosity of a question came out on Blizzcon

[@SupLuiKir]

if, instead of only being able to move in 3 spatial dimensions, particles additionally had the freedom to use some of their velocity to spin around six tiny coil dimensions, would that collectively result in a sort of drag for large objects moving through the vastness of space, compared to what you would expect for a 3-spatial-D universe? Would massive objects tend to experience a miniscule negative acceleration, even in hard vacuums?

[@einstin2]

Drag would decrease, not increase. To see this, assume this hypothetical universe has the same amount of matter we do. In our universe, an object moving in a fluid would experience drag because it collides with the particles in the fluid. In order for the object to move forward, the particles in the fluid must move away. In a universe where there are more than three traversable dimensions, the three dimensional objects would nearly never collide with another three dimensional object. (Never if space isn't quantized.) If the objects are also n-dimentional, then the total higher dimensional space available would be enormous compared to our three dimensional space. This means that density is lower, and so is drag. Generally speaking, life requires three dimensions to exist. If any more are traversable, there will be too many degrees of freedom to have any meaningful constraints on chemistry and physics.

[@SupLuiKir]

@@einstin2 except we're talking about miniscule looping dimensions. They will always be close enough to the normal 3D space to interact with it no matter how many extra loop/coil dimensions, since any movement along the loop in excess of its length will be modulus'd away. I was pointing out that the difference between 1 loop of movement and 0 loops of movement is that the velocity 'spent' to move around a loop essentially disappears, since both radial positions are the same. I think this means objects would be constantly leaking momentum through this process.

[@DFPercush]

@@SupLuiKir If anything, it might affect angular momentum, but the linear motion through space would still exhibit inertial properties. Inertial velocity in the coil dimensions would result in periodic behavior, if I understand them correctly, kind of like scroll looping in old games. Hey, maybe that's where photons' kinetic energy comes from and why everything has wavelike properties? Makes me wonder if QM is nothing but the consequence of classical mechanics on the tiniest of scales. We just didn't understand the shape of the universe. Hey, thanks for the inspiration, my hexadecimal brethren. Be careful not to overflow, you're showing signs.

[@SupLuiKir]

@@DFPercush I actually did briefly consider the thought that wavelike properties come from coiling, thank you for pointing it out and reminding me. go check out the reddit thread. At this point I've come to the conclusion that I'm either wildly wrong about how this works or string theory would quickly bring the entire universe to a complete halt if it existed.

[@einstin2]

@@SupLuiKir sorry for late reply. The amount of energy required to move along another dimension is inversely proportional to the size of the dimension. It is precisely because the other six dimensions are curled up that particles cannot move through them. If we are talking about curled up dimensions, then we already haveremoved the possibility of moving through them. So there can be no higher dimensional drag without the ability to move through them. Drag could be described (and is described) using only the dimensions. Long and short of it, If you want higher dimensional interactions, you need large dimensions. If you have large dimensions, then you have zero drag.

[@notarya_]

String theory is a theoretical framework in physics that aims to explain the fundamental forces and particles in the universe. While it is an intriguing and mathematically elegant idea, as of my last knowledge there is no experimental evidence directly supporting or confirming string theory. It remains a topic of active research and debate within the scientific community.

[@shannonchuprevich3021]

It you could relate string theory to the fundamental understandings of Pi, it can be validated. I believe there's a way to do this that I have realized. Proving the existence of a string would be paramount before you could jump on the strung out symphony or imagine how well angled lines magically emit energy through radiation with in an understanding of particle physics.

[@QuartuvLarry]

That conclusion blew the mind of Schrodinger‘s cat (the living one, that is)

[@DhirC35]

😂

[@strictnonconformist7369]

Until you check, the poor cat is... in a weird state of existence! But wait, if quantum states collapse based on observation, isn’t the whole thought experiment suggesting cats are not capable of observation, and thus collapsing their own quantum probability field or whatever?

[@ankaarne]

@PBS Space Time Matt you missed the perfect pun of using "this is a wild(weyld) one" instead of "a weird one" at 09:34 !

[@Rubbergnome]

Oh man. That's brilliant. Dot org.

[@TheGanamaster]

Is so sad when a meme is victim of abortion...

[@ueks69]

Should it not be, " Why Strong Theory may be right" ? I find your blog very good and informative, top knotch 👍

[@stevenking7352]

Although I "understand" very little of this, the intuitive appeal of "laying" extra dimensions on top of our perceived three or four is the efficiency, hence the elegance. Each "extra" dimension becomes a different way of interpreting the information in our universe. Cosmic cryptography.

[@ravenlord4]

Bode's Theory for predicting planetary orbits was simple, beautiful, and elegant. Until Neptune . . .

[@steamsuhonen9529]

Does String Theory predict midi-chlorians?

[@Krisztian5HUN]

no just predict sand....

[@adamtaylor1739]

Finally, we've got someone asking the REAL questions

[@FairyRat]

Sure, since we have plenty of dimensions to work with. 1 for midi-chlorians and the force, 1 for datasphere, 1 for pineal gland network, 1 for rune magic, 1 for the elder gods etc.

[@michalbotor]

worse. it predicts midi-locrians!

[@combatking0]

Let's see... Force = mass * acceleration Force sensitivity is proportional to midichlroian count Life forms have midichlorians Jar Jar Binks, Rose Tico and Admiral Holdo are all life forms Oh no. Spin-off featuring an adventure centering around Jar Jar, Rose and Holdo confirmed!

[@josephmurphy7522]

I love this channel, I just wish I could understand more that the quarter to third of the material that I do.

[@PaulGalvinPhoto]

To me it seems like the tiny tiny black holes are made along the filaments of strings where harmonic vibrations occur, in a sense, some kind of quantum cavitation

[@immko]

If String Theory is so close to theory of everything, what it tells us about Dark Energy and Dark Matter?

[@altareggo]

lol nothing at all: the universe is still mostly Dark, sadly.

[@espaciohexadimencional6798]

might not be to real the small and the big dont math and the small needs the big and viceverse.

[@altareggo]

I ALMOST understand something in these videos once in a Weyl.

[@kritikitti3868]

String Theory. Sounds good to me. Got interested in String Theory when Brian Greene explained it on PBS some years ago (in a galaxy....), I got interested, bought & read the book. Don't understand all of it but I taught myself to use my smart phone. Schrodinger's cat sez "Hi". I'm 82 by the way. Keep on truckin'😻.

[@davidhand9721]

In the Dirac equation, what are phi and sigma? i and h are familiar, I believe A is the vector potential, q is probably the charge, the upside down triangle is the curvature. But the sigma out front and the phi I don't know.

[@TheExoplanetsChannel]

Great video. Btw, out of topic but, I'm curious to see what you guys think about the last findings on *Oumuamua*

[@eminence_]

Macroscale dark matter

[@albertocaballero8631]

The Exoplanets Channel i'm curious too!

[@alexandermartin1837]

The Exoplanets Channel looking forward to that video

[@martiddy]

As Matt said some videos: "is never aliens... Until we are 100% sure is aliens"

[@petesandwich3246]

I'd also like to hear what Giorgio A. Tsoukalos has to say.

[@endlessnight4291]

6:28 his cat was a lot easier to understand. Or so I thought, apparently others think that his cat is the most baffling thing in the world.

[@AnonymOus-ss9jj]

HOW DOES; A MACROSCOPIC OBSERVER WHO HAPPENS TO BE CAT--IN A BOX WITH A QUANTUM ENTITY AND AN UNSPECIFIED CONTRAPTION AMBIGUOUSLY CONNECTED TO SOME SORT OF POISON WHICH THE CAT MAY OR MAY NOT INGEST REGARLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES; EXPLAIN QUANTUM MECHANICS IN ANY WAY? It is the most convoluted, contradictory, self-defeating excuse for an explanation I've ever heard.

[@endlessnight4291]

Anonym Ous, it’s not the contraption that matters, it’s that as long as you don’t look in the box, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead at the same exact time. But my iq is a few points down from genius, so maby it’s just easier to under stand for me.

[@alicederyn]

I wish there were more detail on exactly how string theory can match general relativity. Does it not sit on the flat space-time of special relativity, like every other quantum theory? How exactly does the graviton cause/mediate changes in the shape of spacetime?

[@jamesruscheinski8602]

Is there a way to describe the three dimensions of space in the past and future? Maybe can get compact extra dimensions of space in past and future.

[@trickydicky2594]

I support string theory because it's funny to think that everything is made out of tiny Silly bands

[@franklingauthier-parker7253]

That's about as good an explanation as the real physicist have.