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Elegant Universe, The: Einstein's Dream
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Classroom Activities
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Many aspects of string theory are abstract and difficult for even
theoretical physicists to fully comprehend. The activities in this
guide are designed to help you and your students better understand
some of the basic concepts underlying particle physics and string
theory. A list of additional resources and a glossary are included
to help you gain further understanding of these fascinating, but
complex, topics.
Each activity includes a teacher activity setup page with background
information, an activity objective, a materials list, a procedure,
and concluding remarks. Reproducible student pages are also
provided. Most activities align with the National Science Education
Standards' Physical Science standard, Structure of Atoms and
Structure and Properties of Matter sections.
Particle Puzzle Pieces
So far, the smallest constituents of matter confirmed by experiments
are quarks and leptons. This activity acquaints students with the
elementary particles of the Standard Model of particle physics by
having them construct a proton and neutron from quarks. It is best
suited for those students who have some understanding about
elementary particles.
Forces of Nature
Forces drive the interactions between elementary particles. Without
the four fundamental forces the universe could not exist. In this
activity, students learn about the four forces and the interactions
they govern. Students who are acquainted with the four forces of
nature will do best with this activity.
A New Building Block?
Some theoretical physicists think that quarks and leptons are not
the building blocks of the universe. Rather, they propose a new
unit—a string. In this activity, students learn about this
novel theoretical element and explore how a string's vibrational
pattern determines which particle it is. Doing this activity
requires a working knowledge of the relationship between energy and
mass.
Deducting Dimensions
In order for string theory to be valid, the universe must have an
additional six or seven spatial dimensions. This activity helps
students first visualize a universe with fewer than three spatial
dimensions and then consider how more than three spatial dimensions
may exist. This activity calls for visualization and creative
thinking.
Detective Work
No part of string theory has yet been supported with physical
evidence. String theory proponents are hoping that current or
next-generation particle accelerators and detectors will find
evidence to support string theory's claims. In this activity,
students learn how to interpret particle interactions captured by
one type of detector, a bubble chamber. This activity will be most
meaningful for students who have an understanding of the particle
nature of matter.
Some physicists believe that the most fundamental units currently
known to make up matter—the electrons and the quarks that form
protons and neutrons in atoms—may actually be made of tiny
vibrating strings. Strings are almost unimaginably small—if an
atom were enlarged to the size of the known universe, a string would
only be about the height of a tree.
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