Spacetime explanation to describe non-gravitational forces

[gulfcoastfella]

Why can't distortions in spacetime be used to describe the fundamental forces other than gravity, i.e. the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak force?

 

[jbriggs444]

Why can't distortions in spacetime be used to describe the fundamental forces other than gravity, i.e. the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak force?

Objects with different charge follow different trajectories. You cannot explain that with straight trajectories in curved space time.

 

[andrewkirk]

Why can't distortions in spacetime be used to describe the fundamental forces other than gravity, i.e. the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak force?

It's not so much that they "can't" as that nobody has ever invented a theory in which they do. There is no reason in principle why there could not be a theory in which all forces are explained as disturbances in some multi-dimensional manifold. For the disturbances to explain additional forces, I expect the manifold would need more than four dimensions.

But nobody has yet invented a falsifiable theory of that type.

 

[Khashishi]

I think string theory tries to explain forces with geometry. Not with 4D space-time, but with 10+D space with 6D compactified Calabi Yau space. Don't ask me what all this means though.

 

[cosmik debris]

The Kaluza-Klein theory attempted to include ElectroMagnetism into the 4D space of Relativity by adding a 5th dimension. The various string theories attempt to extend this idea further.