Chapter Seven, The Super in Superstring Summary and Analysis

Much in physics depends on symmetry, and mathematically physicists have found that some messenger particles and matter particles could have the greatest possible symmetry, or be called supersymmetric. Physicists' research relies on a stable universe that obeys the fixed universal laws—-laws that do not depend on when or where you use them. These are called symmetries of nature, which "treats every moment in time and every location in space identically," or symmetrically. Symmetries have a direct link to motion, time, or space.

In 1925, electrons were discovered to have certain magnetic properties, including a rotational motion, or spin. Like the earth, electrons both revolve and rotate—-they spin at one fixed rate. All matter particles have a spin equal to the electron, known as "spin-1/2," the quantum mechanical measure...