Quote:
Originally Posted by Fadingstar
I was thinking about the unified theory of everything and began to wonder if it was really possible.
My reasoning is this:
We live in - for an anology - an apple universe! This means that everything we apply to understanding our universe involves apples! OK, a bit strange, but this seems the easiest way of explaining it.
So, our mathematic formulas are all geared to working with apples, and we get results that make sense and work with the observations that we see.
But, when we approach things like Black Holes and the very tiny we aren't using apples anymore, but - let us say - oranges.
Therefore the mathematics that we apply don't work because they can't - being callibrated to apples!
Now along comes quantum theory, and I think, is this truly orange mathematics or is it merely apple mathematics with a slightly tangy flavour?
Being which we get things like super string theory because we are still working, in essence, with apple mathematics. Ah, does my standing on super string theory show here? Ha!
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Our situation is actually worse.
We're living in a universe where all we can figure out is that if we look at in at one scale it behaves like apples.
Amazingly like apples, every test we've made on that scale points to apples.
Unfortunately on another scale it acts like oranges.
Amazingly like oranges, every test we've made on that scale points to oranges.
The two ways of looking at things(Quantum Mechanics or rather it's successor Quantum Electrodynamics and General Relativity) has so far been mathematically irreconcilable, though both works extremely well in the realm they're created in.
QED(your quantum theory) is truly orange mathematics, it stands by itself with some very impressive confirmed predictions.
The super string hypothesis(it's not a theory) is one attempt at making a model that includes everything described by the other two.
Since they have so far been unable to get it to a point where it can be used for predictions that can be used to test it, it's anyone's guess if it'll ever become a theory.
If you can get them, perhaps at the library, try reading Feynmann's "Six Easy Pieces" and "Six Not So Easy Pieces", or if you're feeling adventurous, go for "The Feynman Lectures on Physics".
They'll give a reasonable basis to build on.