In this video, we explore the relationship between string theory and quantum field theory (QFT). QFT is a mathematical framework that describes nearly all particles and forces in the universe but ...

Or is it that our brains are simply incapable of imagining additional dimensions—dimensions that may turn out to be as real ...

Scientists seeking the secrets of the universe would like to make a model that shows how all of nature's forces and particles fit together. It would be nice to do it with Legos. But perhaps a better ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. String theory captured the hearts and minds of many physicists decades ago because of a beautiful simplicity. Zoom in far enough on a ...

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String theory proposes that the fundamental constituents of the universe are one-dimensional “strings” rather than point-like particles. What we perceive as particles are actually vibrations in loops ...

IT IS one of the biggest questions confronting physics: why is our universe the way it is? If some of the fundamental laws were even slightly different, our universe would be a strange and lethal ...

In quantum field theory, spontaneous particle formation can occur when the potential energy between two elementary particles increases with their separation, as if they were confined by a string. When ...