String Theory Finally Proven?

July 7, 2009

Theoretical physicists from Leiden in the Netherlands have successfully used string theory to describe a real, physical phenomenon: the quantum critical state, a factor in high-temperature super-conductivity.

Although the mystery of high temperature super-conductivity isn’t fully resolved, the findings do show that major problems in physics can be addressed using string theory. And this is just the start, Zaanen believes. ‘AdS/CFT correspondence now explains things that colleagues who have been beavering away for ages were unable to resolve, in spite of their enormous efforts. There are a lot of things that can be done with it. We don’t fully understand it yet, but I see it as a gateway to much more.’ The fact that Science was keen to publish this discovery early confirms this.

Now, if I had any idea what this means, I would probably be a lot more excited.

Here’s a short introduction to string theory:

If that fascinates you, I can strongly recommend the BBC documentary Parallel Universes, which gives a great introduction to M-theory, the so-called theory of everything.