This implies we live in a universe "in which six of the space dimensions have been collapsed or curled up in themselves." (Tipler 650). Since all of these dimensions are believed to be of the order of the Planck length they cannot be seen by any common experimental procedures currently in practice today.
Despite the attractiveness of string theory its utilization of large numbers of space dimensions raises many important questions regarding the formation of the universe, and questions about the possibility of ever verifying it in the lab. Considering the fact that many aspects of physics depend upon the existence of only three spatial dimensions, this might suggest that "three" is a deep principle within nature. Somehow, physics might demand that three dimensions of space grow infinitely while the others collapse on themselves; then again, the creation of our universe may have been utterly accidental in its outcome.
Clearly, experimental evidence would be highly desirable. One of the proposed "best" ways...
Yet this, even by mathematical predictions, is an extremely rare occurrence and has never been clearly observed to date. Other approaches may involve new, high-energy accelerators and detectors far more sensitive than those currently in inexistence. Although string theory is an exponentially growing field and possesses much promise, there remains much work to be done.
Works Cited
Barrow, John D. The Origin of the Universe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
Calle, Carlos I. Superstrings and Other Things. Philadelphia: Institute of Physics, 2001.
Davies, Paul and John Gribbin. The Matter Myth. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992.
Filkin, David. Stephen Hawking's Universe. New York: Perseus, 1997.
Tipler, Paul a. And Ralph a. Llewellyn. Modern Physics: Third Edition. New York: WH. Freeman and Company, 1999.
