19 Mar 2020

Strings in String Theory | The Smallest Thing in the Universe | String Theory

Strings, the Smallest thing in the universe ! Do you know, What is the smallest thing in this universe? According to string theory the smallest thing in the universe is the String.
Some of you will say, that Atom is the smallest particle and according to some, subatomic particles like electrons, protons and neutrons are the smallest particles, and some others that are from the science background may say that, particles like Quarks, Muon, Photon, Higgs boson, Graviton etc. are the smallest particles in the universe that can not be divided further. But that's not true.

What are Strings in String Theory

Actually according to recent studies, the smallest thing in this universe is unimaginably small. It is the 'strings' of string theory. It is so tiny that it doesn't seem to occupy any space.
But before Knowing how small a string is, it is important to know what is a string according to string theory.

What is String Theory

In Physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. According to the string theory all fundamental particles are actually tiny vibrating loops of string. Various properties of particles like mass and charge are determined by the vibrations of the one dimensional string like entities. The String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interact with each other.

How small are Strings in String Theory 

According to researchers, the size of the string is about 10^-33 cm. This length is so small that your mind cannot understand this number without giving you an example and analogy.
So let's try to understand it. Let me first tell you that 10^-33 cm is actually millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a centimeter. I know you are confused again. Ok let's try again, this time by giving you an interesting analogy.
To give you an Idea let's compare the size of a string with the size of an atom.
If an atom were magnified, to the size of the whole observable Universe, then a String would be the size of a tree!!!
Now let me do one more comparison to make it more clear. This time i will compare the size of an electron with the size of a string.
So, If we increase the size of an electron equal to the size of Earth, then a string would not be bigger than a 3 storey building.
After giving you 2 examples, I can hope you can imagine the unimaginably small size of the String.
So friends, Now you know, what is the smallest thing in the whole universe and how small it is.

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Strings in String Theory Video



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