Using String Theory in SciFi? (question)

[18-Till-I-Die]

So i've been trying to read up on string theory and figured out soem stuff about the subject. As i understand it the idea--i'm summarizing here--is that everthing that exists on the tiniest level possible is made up of strings, which vibrate on some level and that those vibrations make the particles of matter and energy in the universe what they are. So i thought this sounds rather interesting, and it raised a possibility for me i wasnt aware of till i read that, though it's not covered by any of the pages i've found so far so i ask those who know more about it...

If, in scifi now not real life, one had a device that could manipulate the vibrations of these strings, could a person control matter and energy in such a way as to to change one into the other. Like convert matter to energy, or convert one type of energy to another?

Thanks in advance for any help guys.

[Lazarus]

Hmm. I'm also pretty interested in string theory etc, but being interested in it and remotely understanding it are two different things. I'm not sure how the vibrations affect things on a larger scale, but if such a hypothetical technology existed it'd be like the swiss army knife of everything. Ever.

[Zaia]

This thread clearly does not belong in Off-Topic. I'm not sure if it's more appropriate for SLAM (which is where I'm going to send it) or 'Other Sci-Fi' (which is where I'm not going to send it), but it certainly does not belong here.

Since the majority of the OP seems to be inquiring about details of string theory to then further apply to sci-fi, I'm going to send you to get your foundational science first. *moves to SLAM*

[Spin Echo]

I don't know that much about string theory, but from the occasional lectures I attended on the subject, I received the general impression I received that string theory is very interesting mathematically but very out of touch with reality. There's a favourite expression with regards to it, not even wrong. The problem with string theory is that the length scales it deals with (10^-35m, the order of the planck constant) are so small, that we're not able to use it to make any predictions we can test experimentally with today's technology, or possibly ever.

In the unlikely event string theory is somehow proven right, it would take an incredibly advanced technology to determine that, let alone manipulate the strings.

Anyway, if you'd like to learn more about string theory I'd recommend reading both:

The Elegant Universe and Not Even Wrong

[Havok]

Hasn't string theory been encompased by M-theory? And I thought that M was expanded on by adding more dimensions? Fuck. I hate trying to remember all this shit. HAVOKEFF SMASH!!!!

[Winston Blake]

If, in scifi now not real life, one had a device that could manipulate the vibrations of these strings, could a person control matter and energy in such a way as to to change one into the other. Like convert matter to energy, or convert one type of energy to another?

If you have a device that powerful, I don't see any reason on insisting that the physics is somewhat plausible. For example, once it was known that all atoms were composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons, if you had a device that could manipulate these particles then you could turn any matter into any other matter. Today we understand atoms very well, yet we certainly can't invent a machine that just arbitrarily controls their components.

Also, string theories and M-theory are just one example of unified theories. There's also loop quantum gravity and a bunch of other stuff IIRC, and none of them have been tested any more than any other.

[Thinkmarble]

Hasn't string theory been encompased by M-theory? And I thought that M was expanded on by adding more dimensions? Fuck. I hate trying to remember all this shit. HAVOKEFF SMASH!!!!

There is not one string theory but rather a whole family of them.
The one which everyone is interested in are the 5 supersymmetric string theories (reason being that the non-supersymmetric ones only contains bosons in its spectrum of particles).
Those 5 superstring theories now seem to arise from one, even less well understood, fundamental framework by taking different limits.
This more fundemental framework was dubbed M-Theory.

If, in scifi now not real life, one had a device that could manipulate the vibrations of these strings, could a person control matter and energy in such a way as to to change one into the other. Like convert matter to energy, or convert one type of energy to another?

Kategorienfehler.
Energy is an property of physical systems, matter a class.
You can convert matter into gauge-bosons (eg. electron and anti-electron to 2 photons) and vice versa but energy is conserved in the process.

Anyway:
Vibrational modes correspond to different types of particles (eg. one corresponds to electrons, one to top-quarks).
So changing the vibrational mode corresponds to converting one type of particle into another.

[Darth Wong]

Sci-fi writers who think about esoteric fringe science while making serious blunders on basic science are a dime a dozen. Don't become one of them. There's no good reason at all to even mention string theory in a sci-fi story.

[Havok]

Also when the theory changes or is disproved or whatever the work story will seem dated.

[Shroom Man 777]

If he's just making a technical manual for his 'verse, that's okay. But technoconfabulating in a story is bad. Which is why instead of tractor beams, my guys use harpoons. And brass diving helmets.