The beginning of the 20th Century was a high point in the history of physics. Einstein and his colleagues left us the Theories of Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics. Both of these have had profound effects on our modern technology. They’ve also left us with a problem. We don’t understand how the two concepts relate to one another. If we try to use the equations from relativity to look at very small scales, we get answers that don’t make any sense. The same thing is true in the other direction; quantum mechanics only explains the actions of very small objects. Throughout the last hundred years, physicists have looked for ways to unify the two theories. The leading candidate, for the last 25 years, has been string theory. But according to Dr. Lee Smolin, from the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, this has led to a stagnation in the field of physics, as more and more resources are pushed at a theory that has yet to proven true. In his new book, The Trouble With Physics, Dr. Smolin explores why he thinks this is leading to a crisis in science.
May 23
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