Okay, I'm new here and a total layman. 90% of what I read here, I do not fully understand. So it takes real audacity (or stupidity) to offer this post. But, at the least, it may give you all a laugh. So here it is, my view of string theory.
The first thing that troubled me about string theory was the increasing number of dimensions that were being resorted to. Now, the idea of 3 dimensions has also always troubled me; sort of a vision of a world of perpendiculars and squares. when I set up a milling machine there are three axes to adjust. But, always frustratingly, there are infinite other directions that I can't move the milling table in. Enough preface.
The string that vibrates doesn't exist. There is only the vibration of the string, but no string. If the string vibrates randomly around a center point, it ultimately creates a sphere of vibration. So the sphere is the basic definition of dimension, its dimensions are infinite, but it has no size because it is merely a vibration. So it is not only a sphere, but also a point. The answer to the 11+ dimensions thing is that our world has One dimension. It is a point.
The strings (which don't exist) vibrate, and the vibrations can differ in many ways: frequency, amplitude, and so forth - you would know about that, I don't. The variations in the vibration properties of the strings determine if the strings appear as energy, matter or time. Entirely different strings can group, or cluster (virtually infinite numbers of them) because of some commonality. I think of the analogy of many different waves, but all with the same harmonic vibration on them, and harmonics on the harmonics, etc.- a commonality. And these clusters of commonalities are the leggos of all matter and energy in the universe.
Rather than rambling further (which I certainly could do), I will stop now and brace myself for the gale of laughter which may follow.
Hey guys, it's not like I pretended to know anything, so be gentle on me.
