Dr. Brian Greene (From pbs.org “The Elegant Universe”) The Elegant Universe: Pt. 2: Every atom is made of smaller bits of matter, electrons orbiting a nucleus made of protons and neutrons, which are made of even smaller bits of matter called quarks. But string theory says this is not the end of the line. It makes the astounding claim that the particles making up everything in the universe are made of even smaller ingredients, tiny wiggling strands of energy that look like strings. Each of these strings is unimaginably small. In fact, if an atom were enlarged to the size of the solar system, a string would only be as large as a tree! Full source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/elegant-universe.html#elegant-universe-string

Dr. Brian Greene (From pbs.org “The Elegant Universe”) The Elegant Universe: Pt. 2 (Quote #1): And here's the key idea. Just as different vibrational patterns or frequencies of a single cello string create what we hear as different musical notes, the different ways that strings vibrate give particles their unique properties, such as mass and charge. For example, the only difference between the particles making up you and me and the particles that transmit gravity and the other forces is the way these tiny strings vibrate. Full source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/elegant-universe.html#elegant-universe-string

Dr. Brian Greene (From the book: The Elegant Universe) Page 146 Quote #1: Each elementary particle is composed of a single string-that is, each particle is a single string-and all strings are absolutely identical. Differences between the particles arise because their respective strings undergo different resonant vibrational patterns. What appear to be different elementary particle are actually different “notes” on a fundamental string. The universe-being composed of an enormous number of vibrating strings-is akin to a cosmic symphony. Page 146 Quote #2: Because every physical event, process or occurrence in the universe is, at its most elementary level, describable in terms of forces acting between these elementary material constituents, string theory provides the promise of a single, all- inclusive, unified description of the physical universe: a theory of everything (T.O.E.).