| Themes > Science > Physics > Elementary particle physics > Elementary particle physics Today > String Theory and the Unification of Forces > More Surprises, and Some Hopes |
Besides these surprises, there are many others that we have stumbled upon in the last decade. In string theory, the fact that there are three space dimensions in our world might also be predicted rather than assumed. The dimension of ``space-time'' is variable in string theory, in the sense that we have to understand and solve string equations to determine it. This has not been done yet, because of the great complexity of the theory. If the answer comes out to be four (three space and one time) then we would have ``explained'' one of the most deep and abiding mysteries since the dawn of civilization: why does our world have the dimensionality that it has? If the answer is something else then string theory may be the wrong theory of nature, though we may still learn something about the right theory. Only successful comparison with experiment can give us convincing proof that string theory is correct. |
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