string theory

American  

noun

Physics.

1. string3

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string theory Scientific  

/ strĭng /

1. Any of various theories in physics hypothesizing that space-time has more than four dimensions, and that some of the dimensions are exceedingly small and stringlike in shape. Elementary particles in string theory are understood as standing waves in such space-time strings, rather than as pointlike objects. String theories attempt to unify gravity with the other fundamental forces.

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string theory Cultural  

1. In physics, a theory that views subatomic particles as string-like objects floating in space-time rather than as point-like objects. Space-time in string theory can have up to nine dimensions of space, plus the dimension of time.

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Example Sentences

But returning the money, Dr. Gates said, “was more complicated than the string theory I studied.”

From New York Times

Their work is rigorously conceptual and often engages with the kind of brain-twisting math many of us have spent our lives avoiding: space-filling curves, string theory, fluid dynamics, the fourth dimension.

From New York Times

Confirming the predictions of string theory “would have been nice,” Maldacena says, “but it’s not what happened.”

From Scientific American

Some scientists criticize string theory as being outside science.

From New York Times

The first is to use tools from string theory, which treats the elementary particles of nature as vibrating strings.

From Scientific American