String theory
was built in part to find particles predicted by supersymmetry (a basis for Superstring theory and M- theory), the lack of any results leads many to feel that researching string theory is a waste of money. String theorists argue that the energy needed to find supersymmetric particles is more than the LHC can provide and urge the scientific community to build another particle accelerator that is bigger and more powerful. However, even string theorists admit that the energy required to find heavy supersymmetric particles may not be achievable in our lifetime. As a result, many have suggested putting string theory research funds into other fields that are more practical and have a more direct positive impact on the human race, such as condensed matter physics, to further the study of superconductivity and polymers; quantum entanglement, for developing quantum computers to achieve unprecedented computing speeds; and research into alternative energy sources, including nuclear fusion or fission, to solve the current energy crisis. Breakthroughs in these three fields of physics not only carry practical applications, but, unlike string theory, they can be scrutinized and checked using experimental methods. It has been more than 40 years since Claud Lovelace proposed Bosonic String Theory, which requires 26 dimensions to work. Since then, different versions of string theory have been proposed by string theorists, most notably M-theory, and according to the current trend, many more changes will be made to the existing theory in the coming decades. As a result, I created a survey and interviewed 45 students, aged 15 to 18, currently studying in the UK and Hong Kong about whether or not they think string theory should continue to take up a considerable budget within the scientific community and their familiarity with string theory. Because of the educational systems of the UK and Hong Kong, all students have at least two years of experience studying physics and most have a rudimentary understanding of particle physics. The survey consists of two questions: 1. Your government has $1 billion to spend. Which of these areas of research should receive most of the funding? The options given are black holes, dark energy, string theory, alternative energy sources, equally divided and others. 2. On a scale from 1 to 5, how familiar are you with string theory? 1: I have never heard of string theory, 5: I am an expert on string theory.
The results are as follows:
As shown in the results, even though almost 58%of students interviewed are familiar with string theory to a certain extent, only 7% of students agree to use the imaginary 1-billion-dollar budget on string theory. 42% of students agree that all fields of science should share the budget equally while 20% of students think the most appropriate way to spend the budget is to use it on alternative energy sources.
166
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software