Quantum Physics / Quantum Mechanics

[LilSciWizGal]

Hey I'm Kristine & I was watching a show last night. It was called NOVA (It's about science), which this eposide aired on channel: #50!

It was on Quantum Physics / Quantum Mechanics. Which was problly over my head, considering that I'm in the 10th grade & am currently taking an Earth Science Class. Well anyways I had a few questions, because I was a little hard for me to understand, and a little ing too! Well, I thought you help clairify them for me!

 

1.) How can string theory be science, if it can't be proven like any other theory is?

1a.) Is it science or is it just a palosaphy?

 

2.) How can the Laws of the Large & the Laws of the small ( gravity & the other three forces) be combined together, if they can't all be one happy family?

2A.) What about when your trying to prove the theory of a black/dark hole?

Or the Big Bang theory?

 

I'm a little can you help un me, and please explain what's going on in as simple as terms as you can!

 

Thank You,

~*~Lil`SciWizGal~*~

[Meir Achuz]

Your three questions remind me of the story of the Emporer's cloths.

Because you are only 15 (but certainly thoughtful), you have asked the three most difficult questions for practioners of those theories.

Your first question is to the point, and has also been asked by Nobel laureates. This is the first time since Galileo that an untestable theory has been called science.

I will leave your other two questions for cosmologistgs.

[swansont]

As far as I know string "theory" is still technically a hypothesis. It's still within the realm of science, but will reach a point where it has to be tested or discarded.

 

As far as combining the forces, scientists are working on it. Electricity and magnetism were combined long ago, so they are considered one force already. That was unified with the weak nuclear interaction several decades ago into the electroweak force. Adding the strong nuclear force requires testing at higher energies, which is one reason scientists want to build bigger particle accelerators.

 

Combining quantum theory with gravity (general relativity) is another challenge. One has to be able to create the conditions where you can study the effects of gravity on a really small scale to be able to test things.

[Hactar]

I've been looking around for places to get a start in understanding quantum mechanics. Most of the stuff discussed here is over my head.

[ed84c]

ah; great book you should read, "In search of shrodingers cat" it starts off realy easy, and gets progressivley harder, I seriously suggest you read it.

[1veedo]

I'm persoanlly not very big on string theory.

 

There is actually another "traditional" quantum mechanics theory pertaining to the big bang, and a new theory (well ok, hypothesis. Or models. Whatever) I just read about that proposes neutrinos are responsible for having more matter then antimatter at the beginning of the universe as well as dark matter; actually, it eliminates dark mater / energy from the equation. The reason for this is all mathematical of course; one of the 3 equations that have been worked out involve imaginary numbers that ignore the duality between matter and antimatter.

 

I'm optimistic about it. I used to be behind string theory 100% but I honestly dobt it's integrity. There are other theores. Revised Newtonian Cronodynamics is another one that is completely out of QM, eliminates dark matter, but has no backing for it.

 

Just dont get dogmatic about string theory...It's not even a theory.