As a borderline nerd, I found NOVA‘s “The Elegant Universe” website both intriguing and time consuming. If you’re the least bit nerdy, don’t do this at work, or it will suck you in . . . and there are some strings attached.
Warning! Scientific content!
An excerpt from the website:
A Theory of Everything? Some physicists believe string theory may unify the forces of nature by Brian Greene.
The fundamental particles of the universe that physicists have identified—electrons, neutrinos, quarks, and so on—are the “letters” of all matter. Just like their linguistic counterparts, they appear to have no further internal substructure. String theory proclaims otherwise. According to string theory, if we could examine these particles with even greater precision—a precision many orders of magnitude beyond our present technological capacity—we would find that each is not pointlike but instead consists of a tiny, one-dimensional loop. Like an infinitely thin rubber band, each particle contains a vibrating, oscillating, dancing filament that physicists have named a string.
Man, this is sooooo interesting! There are several interactive demonstrations that allow my three-dimensional brain visualize in some small way how there can be ten spatial and two temporal dimensions.
Mind boggling! Explore NOVA’s The Elegant Universe.