The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next

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The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next Page 46

by Lee Smolin


  Smolin and, 290–93

  Feynman, Richard

  criticism of string theory, 125

  discovery of quarks by, 56

  graviton problem, 87–88

  QED, 55, 278

  quantum computers, 325

  quantum gravity, 87–88, 98

  quantum theory, x

  on science, 307

  as seer, xxiii, 325

  fields

  as “fundamental stuff,” 38

  laws with, 31

  matter and, 38

  values of, 31

  See also electric field; gravitational field; magnetic field; unified field theory

  fifth force, 172

  fine structure constant (alpha), 216–17

  finite theory, 6

  Finkelstein, David, 322

  Fischler, Willy, 147

  Fock, Vladimir, 231

  forces

  overview, x, 11, 12, 48–49

  value differences/hierarchy of, 70

  See also specific types; unification of particles and forces

  Frampton, Paul, 77–78

  free constants, 12–16, 70

  Freidel, Laurent, 234–35

  Friedan, Daniel, 194, 268

  fundamental strings, 132–33

  Galileo Galilei

  accomplishments of, xvii

  Kepler’s ideas and, 218

  method of, 290–91

  myth of, 294

  principle of relativity and, 22

  spatialization of time, 256–57

  unification of motion and rest, 21, 22, 24, 39, 203, 219

  gamma-ray bursts, 223–24, 225–26

  Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), 226, 235–36

  gamma rays, 224, 226

  gauge bosons, 57–58

  gauge forces, 57–58

  gauge principle/theory

  description, 56, 57–58, 93, 361 n2 (ch. 4)

  gauge bosons, 57–58

  Maldacena and, 141–45, 180, 189, 194–95, 282–83

  spontaneous symmetry breaking, 61

  standard model and, 56–59, 61, 62, 239

  strings and, 141–42

  strong nuclear force, 58, 62

  symmetry, 56–57

  twistor theory, 245

  unification of forces with, 56–59, 67

  gauge theory-string theory duality, 141–45

  Gell-Mann, Murray, 56

  general relativity

  as background-independent theory, 44, 54, 81–83, 174, 184–85

  consequences of, 44

  cosmological constant and, 151–53

  description, ix

  geometry, gravity, and, 67, 94

  gravity and, 43, 67, 94

  infinite solutions with, 126

  infinities problem with, 5

  MOND and, 212

  non-Einstein approach to, 93

  observers and, 58–59

  predictions and, 45

  reformulation of equations, 239, 249

  space, time in, 4, 43, 81–82, 93, 151

  symmetry and, 219

  understanding of, 13

  Georgi, Howard, 266

  Geroch, Robert, 92

  Girelli, Florian, 235

  Glashow, Sheldon

  particle physics, 289

  special relativity breakdown, 221

  string theory criticism, 125

  weak force and gauge theory, 58

  GLAST (Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope), 226, 235–36

  gluons, x, 58

  Goldberg, Joshua, 263

  Golfand, Yuri, 68

  Gonzalez-Mestres, Luis, 225

  gravitational field

  creation of elementary particles and, 89

  effects on clocks, 40

  effects on light (Einstein), 40–41, 43

  unification with electromagnetic field, 38–39

  gravitational lensing, 13

  gravitinos, 75, 92

  gravitons

  description of, 85, 92, 106

  superpartners of, 75

  theory of, 85, 87, 88, 183

  gravity

  between close objects, 217–18

  cosmology and, 5–8, 12, 13

  Kepler, 30

  Newton, viii, 14, 31, 39

  spacetime geometry and, 83

  systems with/without energy effects, 362 n5 (ch. 6)

  understanding of, 13

  unification with electromagnetic fields, 11–12

  unification with rest of physics, 43, 54

  See also quantum gravity; unification of gravity and electromagnetism; unified field theory

  Gravity’s Rainbow (theory/novel), 233

  Green, Michael, 114–15, 339

  Greene, Brian, xv

  Greisen, Kenneth, 220–21

  Gross, David, xv, 338, 359 n4

  Grothendieck, Alexander, 327–28, 353

  ground-state energy. See vacuum (ground-state) energy

  groupthink phenomenon, 286–88, 350, 354

  Guth, Alan, xi

  GZK prediction, 220–21

  Hardy, Lucien, 325

  Hartle, James, 317

  Hawking, Stephen

  black holes, x–xi, 90–91, 139, 145, 190, 191, 250

  causal structure, 243

  one-quantum system, 317

  Sciama and, 322–23

  Heisenberg, Werner

  debate over quantum theory, 7

  quantum gravity, 84–85, 86

  as seer, 311

  unified field theory, 51–52

  Hertog, Thomas, 159

  Hewett, JoAnne, 268–69

  hidden dimensions, geometry of, 120, 122, 130, 136

  hidden-variables theory, 323, 324–25, 369 n21

  hierarchy problem, 70–72

  Higgs, Peter, 61

  Higgs boson/particle

  as “composite,” 72–74

  description, 61, 62, 69

  predictions on, 70, 76, 77

  search for, 62, 70, 76

  as unprotected particle, 72

  Higgs field, 62, 247

  Higgsino, 74

  Higgs phenomenon, 61

  Hilbert, David, 45

  Hofmann, Stefan, 251

  holographic principle, 317, 318–19

  Hoppe, Jens, 147

  Horowitz, Gary

  and Calabi-Yau spaces, 159

  Maldacena conjecture, 282

  string theory work of, 122–23

  Hoyle, Fred, 165

  Hubble, Edwin, 152

  Hubble Space Telescope, 171

  Hull, Christopher, 134

  human nature

  fooling ourselves, 299, 300

  mechanism for correction, 300

  trust and, 299–300

  See also sociology of physics, string theory

  inertia principle, 21

  inflation theory

  cosmic microwave background, 207–8

  description, xi, 207–8

  observation discrepancies, 208

  scale of uniform universe with, 207–8

  uncertainty principle and, 207

  Isham, Christopher, 313, 326

  Jacobson, Ted, 314–15

  Janis, Irving, 286

  Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 213–14

  Kachru, Shamit, 156

  Kallosh, Renata, 156, 273

  Kaluza-Klein theory

  description, 46–47, 46, 134, 181

  Einstein and, 47, 48

  failure of, 47–49, 50, 117, 123, 197

  space dimensions, 46–47, 48

  Kaluza, Theodor, 46–47, 46

  Kastler, Daniel, 246–47

  Kauffman, Stuart, 294, 329, 342–43

  Keck telescope, Hawaii, 216–17

  Kelvin, Lord (William Thomson), 13, 35

  Kepler, Johannes

  astrology, 292

  elliptical orbits, 30, 218

  laws of, 29–30

  solar system theory, 27–29, 28, 196

  Tycho Br
ahe and, 27, 29

  unification of planets’ motions and, 27–30

  Klein, Oskar, 47. See also Kaluza-Klein theory

  knot theory and aether, 35

  Kostant, Bertram, 96

  Kowalski-Glikman, Jerzy, 233–34

  Kuhn, Thomas

  experimental anomalies, 154

  on scientific methods, 296–97, 310, 311

  on scientific revolutions, 115

  Kuzmin, Vadim, 220–21

  Lakatos, Imre, 154, 297

  Land, Kate, 208

  landscape (string) theory

  absurdity of, 158–60

  acceptance of, 149, 158, 273–74, 283–84, 364 n5 (ch. 12)

  debate on, 169

  See also Anthropic principle

  Large Electron-Positron accelerator (LEP II), 77

  Large Hadron Collider. See LHC

  Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), 172

  lattice gauge theory, 189

  Laughlin, Robert

  cosmological constant problem, 153

  quantum gravity approach, 247

  as seer/craftsperson, 315, 316

  Lavoisier, Antoine, viii

  “left-handed” term, 50

  LEP II (Large Electron-Positron accelerator), 77

  leptons, 12

  Lerche, Wolfgang, 273–74

  LHC (Large Hadron Collider)

  future uses for, 69–70, 71, 76, 173, 175, 254

  supersymmetry and, 69–70, 76–77, 78, 79

  Life of the Cosmos, The (Smolin), 127, 167

  light

  matter and, 14–15

  and sound unification, 19–20

  wavelength of, 39

  as wave/particle, ix, 6

  LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory), 172

  Likhtman, Evgeny, 68

  Linde, Andrei, 156, 162, 170

  Livine, Etera, DSR, 235

  Lloyd, Seth, 318

  logical positivism, 295–96

  Loll, Renate, 242–43, 242

  loop quantum gravity

  black holes and, 250–51

  quantum geometry in, 249, 250

  quantum gravity theory, 229

  quantum spacetime in, 249

  recent work in, 249–54

  unification and, 252–54

  Lorentz, Hendrik, 47

  Mach, Ernst, 53

  Macready, William, 298

  Maeda, Kengo, 159

  magnetic field

  Faraday’s studies of, 31–32

  See also electromagnetic field

  Magueijo, Joño

  DSR, 231, 232–35, 236

  microwave background, 208

  as seer, 315

  VSL cosmology/relativity, 230, 231, 232–33, 315

  Majid, Shahn, 231–32

  Maldacena, Juan

  on branes and black holes, 140

  holographic principle, 318

  string theory-gauge theory, 141–45, 180, 189, 194–95, 282

  Mandelstam, Stanley, and string theory finiteness, 117, 187, 278–79, 280, 281, 367 n14, 15

  Mannheim, Philip, 212

  Margulis, Lynn, 167, 294, 342–43

  Markopoulou, Fotini

  MOND, 215

  as seer, 313

  unification-loop quantum gravity, 252–54

  universe as quantum computer, 317–18

  Marshack, Alexander, 297–98

  Marshakov, Andrei, 367 n14

  mass

  astronomers’ comparison measuring of, 14–15

  description, 105

  differences/hierarchy of particles, 70

  “protected” masses, 72

  speed and, 14

  See also Planck mass

  massless particles, 105

  mathematics

  and beauty, 30, 45

  importance of proofs, 188

  mathematically consistent theory, 112n

  matrix theory, 147

  matter

  effects on geometry of space, 41

  fields and, 38

  importance of, 38

  light and, 14–15

  unification of heat and, 19

  maximally super theory

  definition/description, 134

  gauge theory-supersymmetry, 142–44

  string theory relationship, 144

  Yang-Mills theories and, 134

  Maxwell, James Clerk

  aether, 34, 53

  Faraday’s work and, 31–32, 32

  fields and, 110

  gauge forces and, 58

  as mechanist, 33

  unification of electricity and magnetism, ix, 11, 31, 32–36, 46, 55, 196, 247

  membranes. See branes mesons, 56

  metaphysics, 295–96

  Milgrom, Mordehai, 210

  Milgrom’s law, 210–11, 213

  Milgrom’s theory (MOND—modified Newtonian dynamics)

  general relativity and, 212

  as mystery/puzzle, 213, 215

  Newton’s law of gravity vs., 211

  nonstring theories and, 214–15

  string theory and, 214

  minimally supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), 75–76, 78

  Minkowski, Hermann, 36

  moduli stabilization problem, 154–60

  Moffat, John, 212, 229–30

  MOND. See Milgrom’s theory

  monopoles, 134

  Moore’s law, 16

  motion, laws of gravity and, viii, 14, 31, 39. See also accelerating motion; uniform motion

  Motl, Lubos, xvi

  MSSM (minimally supersymmetric standard model), 75–76, 78

  M-theory

  exaggerations of, 276–77

  as “fundamental” theory, 181, 182, 183, 196–97, 198

  multiverse theory. See Eternal inflation

  Myers, Robert, 171, 280

  Nambu, Yoichiro, 103–4

  NASA

  Challenger disaster, 286

  spacecraft trajectory discrepancies, 213–14

  National Academy of Sciences, 344, 354

  National Institutes of Health funding, 344

  National Science Foundation, 354, 370 n14

  nature

  “hiding in plain sight,” 203–4

  as hierarchical, 70–71

  infinities and, 5

  unity of, 4–5

  negative dark energy, 142, 143, 145

  Neumann, John von, 323

  neutrinos

  discovery of, x

  invention/finding of, 26

  as left-handed, 50

  mass and, xii, 66

  masses of, and scale R, 217

  neutron

  discovery of, x

  quarks and, 56, 103

  neutron star, 224

  Neveu, Andrei, 106

  Newton, Isaac

  alchemy, 292

  background-dependent theories, 44

  Copernican revolution of physics, 3

  laws of gravity, motion, viii, 14, 31, 39, 211

  as seer/craftsperson, 309

  Newtonian physics

  acceptance of, 24

  breaking with, 4, 196

  gravity between close objects, 217–18

  infinite solutions with, 126

  Kepler and, 30, 31

  mathematics and, 196

  modifying theory of gravity, 39

  spacecraft trajectory discrepancies and, 213–14

  unification proposals and, 31

  Newton’s first law of motion, 21, 22, 24

  New York Times, 338

  Nicolai, Hermann, 147

  Nielsen, Holger

  loop quantum gravity, 249

  random dynamics, 315–16

  as seer, 315–16

  string theory beginnings and, 103–4, 110, 315

  Nobel Prizes, 261–62, 316

  no-free-lunch theorem, 298

  noncommutative geometry, 246–47, 275

  Nordstrom, Gunnar, 39, 43, 44, 46, 47


 

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