Practical Tests for an 'Untestable' Theory of Everything?
D. Kestenbaum · Science · 1998
Physicists may soon have their first experimental evidence that string theory--a grand of everything that attempts to tie all the known forces together in a single framework--is more than just mathematics. String theory postulates a total of 10 dimensions, seven of which are assumed to be compactified, that is, curled up on scales of just 10centimeters--so small as to be out of reach of any conceivable experiment. But now several groups are considering the possibility that a few of those dimensions could unravel a bit, opening up onto scales that precision measurements in accelerators or even on a bench top might actually probe. The work has drawn considerable interest at physics conferences over the last month.