A big question I have always had is how would you reconcile string theory with the standard model? Is every element supposed to be a different type of string, etc.? There are just some things about the standard model/qp that are irrefutable, as far as I know, and I would appreciate it if somebody could explain to me how matter goes from being particles to strings. Is it just some sort of analogy or simplified construct devised to make everything work out? Or is it some sort of philosophy, in which you don't need to know chemistry in order to understand the physics or what?

Every particle state would correspond to a different vibrational mode of a string.

 

String theory can naturally accommodate gauge theories of the type needed to contain the standard model.