String Theory For Dummies. Andrew Zimmerman Jones

      

String Theory For Dummies®, 2nd edition

      Published by

       Wiley Publishing, Inc.

      111 River St.

      Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

       www.wiley.com

      Copyright © 2022 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

      Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

      Published simultaneously in Canada

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; 978-750-8400, fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030; 201-748-6011, fax [phone]; or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

      Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

      LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS WORK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES, WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS OR PROMOTIONAL STATEMENTS FOR THIS WORK. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHORS ENDORSE THE INFORMATION OR SERVICES THE ORGANIZATION, WEBSITE, OR PRODUCT MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A SPECIALIST WHERE APPROPRIATE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR AUTHORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES.

      For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

      For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies.

      Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2022939030

      ISBN: 978-1-119-88897-0 (pbk); ISBN: 978-1-119-88898-7 (ebk); ISBN: 978-1-119-88899-4 (ebk)

      String Theory For Dummies®

      To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “String Theory For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.

      Table of Contents

      1  Cover

      2  Title Page

      3  Copyright

      4  Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here

      5  Part 1: Introducing String Theory Chapter 1: So What Is String Theory Anyway? String Theory: Seeing What Vibrating Strings Can Tell Us about the Universe Introducing the Key Elements of String Theory Understanding the Aim of String Theory Appreciating the Theory’s Amazing (and Controversial) Implications Why Is String Theory So Important? Chapter 2: The Physics Road Dead-Ends at Quantum Gravity Understanding Two Schools of Thought on Gravity Describing Matter: Physical and Energy-Filled Grasping for the Fundamental Forces of Physics Infinities: Why Einstein and the Quanta Don’t Get Along Unifying the Forces Chapter 3: Accomplishments and Failures of String Theory Celebrating String Theory’s Successes Considering String Theory’s Setbacks Looking into String Theory’s Future

      6  Part 2: The Physics Upon Which String Theory Is Built Chapter 4: Putting String Theory in Context: Understanding the Method of Science Exploring the Practice of Science Understanding How Scientific