It's indeed surprising that replacing the elementary particle with a string leads to such a big change in things. I'm tempted to say that it has to do with the fuzziness it introduces. — Edward Witten Copy Share Image
String theory is an attempt at a deeper description of nature by thinking of an elementary particle not as a little point but as a little loop of vibrating string. — Edward Witten Copy Share Image
As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So… — Edward Witten Copy Share
“If one of the five theories describes our univers, who lives in the other four worlds” — Edward Witten Copy Share
The theory has to be interpreted that extra dimensions beyond the ordinary four dimensions the three spatial dimensions plus time are sufficiently small that… — Edward Witten Copy Share
You enter a completely new world where things aren't at all what you're used to. — Edward Witten Copy Share
On the other hand, we don't understand the theory too completely, and because of this fuzziness of spacetime, the very concept of spacetime and… — Edward Witten Copy Share
As of now, string theorists have no explanation of why there are three large dimensions as well as time, and the other dimensions are… — Edward Witten Copy Share
Technically you need the extra dimensions. At first people didn't like them too much, but they've got a big benefit, which is that the… — Edward Witten Copy Share
In Einstein's general relativity the structure of space can change but not its topology. Topology is the property of something that doesn't change when… — Edward Witten Copy Share
Having those extra dimensions and therefore many ways the string can vibrate in many different directions turns out to be the key to being… — Edward Witten Copy Share
Even before string theory, especially as physics developed in the 20th century, it turned out that the equations that really work in describing nature… — Edward Witten Copy Share
I just think too many nice things have happened in string theory for it to be all wrong. Humans do not understand it very… — Edward Witten Copy Share
It's indeed surprising that replacing the elementary particle with a string leads to such a big change in things. I'm tempted to say that… — Edward Witten Copy Share
One of the basic things about a string is that it can vibrate in many different shapes or forms, which gives music its beauty. — Edward Witten Copy Share
Quantum mechanics brought an unexpected fuzziness into physics because of quantum uncertainty, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. String theory does so again because a point… — Edward Witten Copy Share
