Whats God got to do with it? Given that the majority of physicists are agnostics at best, I have always found it puzzling that my community is so obsessed with Gods mind, whether or not God plays dice, the God particle and seeing Godand now with Michio Kakus The God Equation. Title notwithstanding, this is an excellent book written by a masterful science communicator elaborating on a subject that is his research home turfsuperstring theory. The prolific author of multiple popular science books, Mr. Kaku is a futurist, broadcaster and professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York. He is also the host of the wildly successful and popular weekly radio program Science Fantastic. If there is anyone who can demystify the esoteric mathematics and physics of string theory, it is he. And in this wonderful little book, that is precisely what he doesexplain in clear and simple terms the conceptual breakthroughs, the blind alleys and the unanswered questionsin the search for a grand unified theory of everything. Most of all, what I like best is that he remains open to the possibility that there may ultimately not be a single unifying theory after all, encoded into a single tidy equation.
The dream to synthesize all known physical forces has been a longstanding challenge; many physicists, including Einstein, have embarked on the pursuit and failed. The four fundamental forces of nature are gravity, electromagnetism, the weak force responsible for radioactive decay of some nuclei, and the strong force binding the atomic nucleus together.
When Newton discovered the laws of gravity, he accomplished the phenomenal task of connecting the celestial and terrestrial with a universal theory of gravitation that accounted both for a falling apple and the orbit of the Earth around the sun. Subsequently, as physicists uncovered additional fundamental forces in natureelectromagnetism, the weak force and the strong forcethey set about combining all of them into ever-grander theories. Mr. Kaku traces each of these pivotal moments of unification, describing the key insights that permitted those breakthroughs and bringing us to the precipice, where we currently stand, stymied. The ultimate challengeto unify gravity and quantum mechanicsis yet to be accomplished. To highlight how momentous unification would be, Mr. Kaku ends the book with a quote from Stephen Hawking: it would be the ultimate triumph of human reasonfor then we would know the mind of Godhence, I suppose, the God equation.
Mr. Kaku argues persuasively that every time physicists have decoded one of the four fundamental forces of the universe, it not only revealed the secrets of nature, but radically revolutionized society too. He connects Newtons laws to the invention of the steam engine and the launch of the Industrial Revolution, while Michael Faradays later discovery of electric and magnetic fields powered the electrical age. Mr. Kaku offers a superb description of how electrical transmission works, connecting the dots from Faradays equations to Edisons and Teslas experiments and then to our illuminated, electrified life today. Eventually we come to the revolution of quantum mechanicsthe description of matter on the smallest scalewhich shook the very core of physics. The subsequent applications that came out of the quantum revolution, the transistor and laser, ushered in a world dependent on electronics.
The God Equation dazzles in its account of the unfinished quest for a grand unified theory. As Mr. Kaku describes, controversies have dogged the unified theory project from the very start. Faraday was the first to propose a unification of gravity and electromagnetism. In 1832 he conducted a set of experiments from Londons Waterloo Bridge and dropped magnets, hoping to find some quantifiable effect of gravity. Alas, the experiment failed, though he remained convinced that the effect existed, perhaps at an undetectable level. In 1947, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, Erwin Schrdinger, famously held a press conference to announce victoryhe claimed to have a unified field theory. He did notembarrassingly, his version could not even explain the nature of electrons and the atom. The other illustrious co-founders of quantum mechanics, Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli, followed suit and failed as well. The first real major step came with the discovery of quantum electrodynamics (QED), which provided a quantum theory of electrons and light. Then came the connection to the best current description of the strong nuclear force with the development of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). The standard model of particle physics that consolidates the zoo of subatomic particles emerged from these developments, bringing us to a theory of almost everything. The quest to unify all four fundamental forces in the universe has unfortunately stalled here. I write this on the heels of an announcement by Fermi National Laboratory of a potential discovery, a likely hint for the existence of a possible additional force of naturewhich, if it stands up, reveals the existence of physics beyond the currently accepted standard model.
Read the rest here:
The God Equation Review: One String Theory to Rule Them All - The Wall Street Journal
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- Quantum to cosmos: Why scale is vital to our understanding of reality - New Scientist - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- A new theory of quantum gravity could explain the biggest puzzle in cosmology, study suggests - Livescience.com - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
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- Breaking Light Speed: The Quantum Tunneling Enigma - SciTechDaily - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Quantum tunnels allow particles to break the light-speed barrier - Earth.com - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Cloud Computing under the Cover of Quantum - Physics - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
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- Chinas father of quantum named Royal Society fellow as US targets sector - South China Morning Post - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Scientists move atoms so close together it may change quantum physics forever - - Study Finds - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- "Impossible" quantum effects seen when squishing atoms together - Earth.com - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Beyond Hydrogen: Discovery of Tiny New Atom Tauonium With Massive Implications - SciTechDaily - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Quantum Coherence: Harvard Scientists Uncover Hidden Order in Chemical Chaos - SciTechDaily - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Netflixs 3 Body Problem: The science explained by an astrophysicist - Vox.com - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Entanglement entropies of nuclear systems gro - EurekAlert - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
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- Innovator Spotlight: Joseph Maciejko | The Quad - University of Alberta - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- A Breakthrough in the Control of Quantum Phenomena at Room Temperature Has Been Achieved, Researchers Say - The Debrief - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The End of the Quantum Ice Age: Room Temperature Breakthrough - SciTechDaily - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
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- URI program to help STEM professionals pivot into quantum information science careers - The University of Rhode Island - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Quantum realm controlled at room temperature for the first time - Earth.com - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
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- Beyond Classical Physics: Scientists Discover New State of Matter With Chiral Properties - SciTechDaily - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
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- Unlocking the Mysteries of Quantum Many-Body Systems: A Look at Quantum Simulators and Universal Scaling ... - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Functioning quantum internet makes giant stride closer to reality - Earth.com - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- Exploring New Futures in Space: A Revolutionary Integration of Neuroscience, Quantum Physics, and Space Exploration - SETI Institute - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- Uncovering the Quantum Plateau: Significance and Implications | Nature Physics - Medriva - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- The State of the Art in Quantum Computing - Medium - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- Beyond the Visible Universe: New Research Reveals How Gravity Influences the Quantum Realm - SciTechDaily - February 13th, 2024 [February 13th, 2024]
- Leader of IBM's Quantum Safe Team to speak at URI - University of Rhode Island - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- University Assistant Predoctoral, Physics job with UNIVERSITY OF ... - Times Higher Education - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Zentropy A New Theory That Could Transform Material Science - SciTechDaily - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
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- Quantum Echoes: A Revolutionary Method to Store Information as Sound Waves - SciTechDaily - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- 'Quantum superchemistry' observed for the 1st time ever - Space.com - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
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- Applications of quantum mechanics at the beach - Symmetry magazine - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Book Review: On the Origin of Time Stephen Hawking's Final Theory - Moose Jaw Today - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Harnessing Quantum Technologies: The Next Big Leap in Global ... - Fagen wasanni - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- The quantum avalanche - At the Vienna University of Technology, it ... - Chemie.de - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Semiconductors: The Linchpin of AI in Quantum Computing - Fagen wasanni - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- The Promising Collaboration Between AI and Quantum Computing - Fagen wasanni - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- String theory physicist changed quantum field theory - USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
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- Fourteen MIT School of Science professors receive tenure for 2022 ... - MIT News - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- The Fascinating World of Quantum Integrated Circuits: The Next Big ... - Fagen wasanni - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Conclusive Evidence for Modified Gravity: Collapse of Newton's and ... - SciTechDaily - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- Physicists Open New Path to an Exotic Form of Superconductivity - SciTechDaily - August 14th, 2023 [August 14th, 2023]
- The Principle of Least Action Now Exists in the Quantum Realm - Popular Mechanics - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Quantum materials: Electron spin measured for the first time - EurekAlert - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
- Life in a hologram | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT News - June 10th, 2023 [June 10th, 2023]
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- Realizing the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox for Atomic Clouds - Physics - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- The US and UK team up to advance quantum information science - Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- How plants can perform feats of quantum mechanics - Big Think - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
- Physicists Make Matter out of Light to Find Quantum Singularities - Scientific American - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
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- TNTs The Lazarus Project Uses Suspense Trapping to Ask Smart ... - Roger Ebert - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]
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- Ian Hacking, Eminent Philosopher of Science and Much Else, Dies ... - The New York Times - June 2nd, 2023 [June 2nd, 2023]