Introduction

String theory is one of the most exciting and profound developments in modern theoretical physics. Unfortunately it is a highly technical subject that can only be well understood using the tools of Quantum Field Theory and General Relativity. It also doesn't hurt to know some mathematics like Group Theory, Differential Geometry, and Algebraic Geometry. Needless to say this is prohibitive for most people who are far too busy doing other things.

The purpose of this online tutorial is to give a brief readable introduction to the basic concepts of string theory. Hopefully it will educate, spark the imagination, and leave you with an appreciation of this fascinating area of science and its implications.

String theory is a science in progress; we are still learning new and unexpected things about it everyday. Whether or not string theory actually describes the universe that we live in is not known - yet. As we will see it has remarkable potential to do so.

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