Andrew Zimmerman Jones - String Theory For Dummies

by Andrew Zimmerman Jones

with Daniel Robbins, PhD in Physics

String Theory For Dummies

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright 2010 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 (978) 646-8600. 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 (201) 748-6008, 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: The publisher and the author 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 warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

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 317-572-4002.

For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.

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: 2009937832

ISBN: 978-0-470-59584-8

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Andrew Zimmerman Jones is the Physics Guide at About.com, a New York Times Company, where he writes and edits news and articles on all areas of physics. He spends his days working as an editor for an educational assessment company. He holds a bachelors degree in physics from Wabash College, where he also studied mathematics and philosophy, and a masters degree in mathematical education from Purdue University.

In addition to work for About.com, Andrew has written a number of nonfiction essays and reviews, which have appeared in The Internet Review of Science Fiction, EpicSFF.com, Pink Floyd and Philosophy, Black Gate, and Heroes and Philosophy. His fiction credits include short stories in Abyss and Apex, KidVisions, The Four Bubbas of the Apocalypse, and International House of Bubbas.

He has been a member of Mensa since the eighth grade and has been intensely interested in both science and science fiction since even earlier. Along the way, hes also become an Eagle Scout, a Master Mason in the Freemasons, and won the Harold Q. Fuller Prize in Physics at Wabash College. His plan for world domination nears completion with the publication of this book.

Andrew lives in central Indiana with his beautiful wife, Amber, and son, Elijah. When hes not writing or editing, he is most often found reading, playing games, watching television, investigating bizarre scientific phenomena, or updating his personal Web page, which can be found at www.azjones.info. Andrew also regularly reports on any new string theory implications on his Web site at physics.about.com .

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my loving and lovely wife, Amber Eckert-Jones. While physicists still search for a law to unify all of the forces in the physical universe, I dont need to, because all the forces in my universe come together in you.

Authors Acknowledgments

I must first profoundly thank my agent, Barb Doyen, for approaching me with this project. My deepest thanks and appreciations go out to the wonderful editorial staff at Wiley: Alissa Schwipps for her valuable input at every step in the process, Vicki Adang for her ability to turn my scientific babble into coherent explanations, and Stacy Kennedy for gathering together such a great team in the first place. I also very much appreciated the constructive and at times critical input of Dr. Rolf Schimmrigk of Indiana University, South Bend, who provided initial technical editing on the book. In addition, Im profoundly thankful for the extremely detailed technical expertise, review, and frequent discussions offered by Dr. Daniel Robbins of the Weinberg Theory Group at the University of Texas at Austin.

Without the wonderful staff at About.com, notably the Education Channel editor Madeleine Burry, I would never have had the opportunity to grow as a writer in this field. Also to author Robert J. Sawyer, for his mentorship and friendship over the years. Thanks to you all!

Many thanks to physicists Lee Smolin and John W. Moffat of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leonard Susskind of Stanford University, and Sylvester James Gates, director of the University of Marylands Center for String and Particle Theory, for e-mail exchanges that have helped to clarify various points throughout the writing of this book.

Finally, my thanks go out to my wife, Amber, and son, Elijah, for putting up with me, even when I was driven frantic by deadlines. Thanks also to my mother, Nancy Zimmerman, and mother-in-law, Tina Lewis, for their help in keeping the family entertained while I worked feverishly in the basement.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: