The second superstring revolution refers to the intense wave of breakthroughs in string theory that took place approximately between 1994 and 1997.
The different versions of superstring theory were unified, as long hoped, by new equivalences. These are known as S-duality, T-duality, U-duality, mirror symmetry, and conifold transitions. The different theories of strings were also connected to a new 11-dimensional theory called M-theory.
New objects called branes were discovered as inevitable ingredients of string theory. Their analysis - especially the analysis of a special type of branes called D-branes - led to the AdS/CFT correspondence, the microscopic understanding of the thermodynamic properties of black holes, and many other developments.
This revolution began when physicists realised that the subatomic particles found in nature, such as electrons and quarks, may not be particles at all, but tiny vibrating strings.
M-theory led John Schwarz of Caltech, one of the founders of superstring theory, to proclaim a "secondsuperstringrevolution".
In superstring theory, the subatomic particles we see in nature are nothing more than different resonances of the vibrating superstrings, in the same way that different musical notes emanate from the different modes of vibration of a violin string.
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