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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following was the first string theory?

2. Which of the following qualities must a physical law have in order to be considered symmetric?

3. How can black holes be detected?

4. Richard Feynman's "sum over paths" theory states that in the double-slit experiment, an electron behaves in what way?

5. What discovery was made that incorporated gravitational force into quantum mechanics via string theory?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the nature and origin of quantum foam.

2. How many string theories are there and how did there come to be multiple theories?

3. What is supersymmetry and what is its importance in string theory?

4. State Newton's law of gravity.

5. Describe the "equivalence principle", which relates acceleration and gravitational force.

6. What are super-partners?

7. What are strings composed of?

8. Describe the structure of an atom.

9. What is the relationship between wavelength, frequency, and a wave's minimum energy?

10. What is the relationship between light, electricity, and magnetism?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Time Travel through Relativity

Special relativity states that as an object's velocity increases, it moves through time more slowly. This effect is amplified greatly near the speed of light. If a ship could be built to travel close to the speed of light for an extended period, a person on that ship could return to earth many years into its future.

Part 1) Propose a mission for such a craft. What will be its goal? Will it be manned or unmanned? How many years into the future will it journey? Use special relativity to estimate how long the journey will be for the ship and its crew.

Part 2) Describe the craft and its contents in detail. What supplies, people, equipment, and other objects must it bring with it? How large is the craft, and about how much does it weigh?

Part 3) Explain contingency plans for the mission. What will happen if it arrives early, or too late? What will happen to the craft and its crew after the mission is complete?

Part 4) Guess creatively at what people will think of the craft when it arrives in the future.

Essay Topic 2

The Two-Slit Enigma

The two-slit experiment is so famous as to be ubiquitous in modern physics. It succinctly illustrates the wave-nature of particles and the very mysterious interference that these particles experience even when there are no other waves to interact with. Perform a short research project on the two-slit experiment, using the book as a starting point, and citing at least two other sources.

Part 1) Describe the history of the experiment, including the original motivation for performing it, and variations that have been performed since.

Part 2) Describe in detail the results of the experiment in its major variations. What are the implications of the experiment and some typical explanations for the results? Explain why these results are so important and unusual.

Part 3) Devise a version of the two-slit experiment that you would perform, given sufficient resources and time, either for scientific purposes, aesthetic interests, or simple curiosity. Be sure to describe the set-up and state what you expect the results to be.

Essay Topic 3

The Calabi-Yau Space

The shape of the extra dimensions in our world turns out to be critical to the properties and physical laws that we observe every day. The particular shape of these spaces has been determined to be a Calabi-Yau shape, a class of exotic multi-dimensional shapes.

Part 1) Describe the importance of the shape of the extra dimensions. Why is this importance only relevant to string theory? What would the effects be if these shapes were different?

Part 2) Use descriptions from the book to explain the nature of Calabi-Yau spaces. What unusual characteristics do they have? What would it be like to move through such a space?

Part 3) Explain some of the work that has been done to relate the shape of the Calabi-Yau space to properties of particles in our universe. How is the shape of the Calabi-Yau space studied and improved? What are some shortcomings of this method?

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