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The unification of physics: the quest for a theory of everything
Author(s) -
Paulson Steve,
Gleiser Marcelo,
Freese Katherine,
Tegmark Max
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.12860
Subject(s) - unification , holy grail , theoretical physics , theory of everything (philosophy) , modern physics , classical physics , unified field theory , merge (version control) , fundamental interaction , physics , physical law , epistemology , theory of relativity , quantum gravity , computer science , philosophy , quantum , quantum mechanics , world wide web , information retrieval , programming language
The holy grail of physics has been to merge each of its fundamental branches into a unified “theory of everything” that would explain the functioning and existence of the universe. The last step toward this goal is to reconcile general relativity with the principles of quantum mechanics, a quest that has thus far eluded physicists. Will physics ever be able to develop an all‐encompassing theory, or should we simply acknowledge that science will always have inherent limitations as to what can be known? Should new theories be validated solely on the basis of calculations that can never be empirically tested? Can we ever truly grasp the implications of modern physics when the basic laws of nature do not always operate according to our standard paradigms? These and other questions are discussed in this paper.