Particles actually "being" strings?

questionpost

I've heard that particles and the fabric of space can consist of many small strings, but then I heard that things like electrons are actually single 1-dimensional strings themselves...how could they have mass if they were just pure energy?

martinbn

What do you mean by they are pure energy? As you said they are strings.

questionpost

Doesn't string theory predict that the strings themselves are made of energy?

martinbn

No, it doesn't.

questionpost

Well that's the first I've heard that from any source, so what are they then?

Nabeshin

No more than saying contemporary theory predicts an electron, which is a point particle, is made out of 'pure energy'. It's quite a ridiculous term.

Simply, in string theory the fundamental object is a string, not a point as it is in the standard model. Vibrational modes of the string correspond to what are observed as different particles.

questionpost

Ok, but the question still remains: what are strings exactly if they are not energy?

arivero

Fascinating... you thing that energy is a concept easier than strings, or particles? I think that the question should not bias towards an answer. Just ask "what are strings exactly", mark stop.

An approach to an answer could be to ask the question first for the QFT, the field theory of point particles, and then see if the answer can be applied to strings or why not.

Nabeshin

I think you're missing the point. Strings are fundamental within the theory. They are not made of or reducible to any simpler concept.

questionpost

Somehow that still doesn't answer my question. Your saying strings=strings, when in order for them to even exist they have to at the very least be in some way y=sin(x).

mitchell porter

You need to tell us a bit about the difference between mass and energy, and perhaps the difference between energy and pure energy, as you understand these terms.

negru

Energy is a property of objects. Saying that strings are made of energy is like saying strings are made of velocity.

DaveC426913

They are more fundamental than matter or energy. The property of matter that we call mass is actually a manifestation of the string's vibration at a particular frequency in a particular number of dimensions.

rglong

So, basically strings are the most fundamental concept that causes all other things to exist and that strings just are?

DaveC426913

I think so, yes. Been a little while since I've read up on it.