I’m not sure either of these stories from the past week is particularly important in and of itself, but since I try and keep up on trends in theoretical physics, and two is a trend, here’s some news from two of the greats of the field:<\/p>\n
For him, the answers to the largest and tiniest questions lie in M-theory.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo understand the universe at the deepest level, we have to understand why is there something rather than nothing,\u201d Hawking said, speaking through a computer program that converts his eye and cheek movements into spoken speech. \u201cWhy do we exist? Why this particular set of laws, and not some other? I believe the answers to all of these things is M-theory.\u201d<\/p>\n
The theory, he said, combines multiple ideas about math and physics. It suggests that there are multiple dimensions or universes, and offers solutions for the behavior of super-massive black holes and the properties of the fabric of space-time. M-theory is a work in progress, but Hawking said he believes that it\u2019s the most promising lead to a unified theory.<\/p>\n
The payoff to solving M-theory, Hawking said, is understanding where we fit in — and, perhaps, how we can thrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must continue to go into space for humanity,\u201d Hawking said. \u201cWe won\u2019t survive another 1,000 years without escaping our fragile planet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Update<\/strong>: On Tuesday Hawking gave a talk to students at Caltech, with a report here<\/a> that includes smuggled audio of the talk. Evidently Hawking told students that they don’t need God, but they do need M-theory and anthropics:<\/p>\n
During his talk, he cited M-Theory \u2014 a wide-ranging and as-yet-incomplete explanation of the universe that attempts to unite the factions within String Theory \u2014 as the only workable theory going forward that can explain the true nature of the cosmos.<\/p>\n
M-Theory suggests that the multi-dimensional \u201cstrings\u201d of the universe are bound together by a strange material sometimes called membranes, but also known by other names. It suggests that matter, space, time and every possible history exists simultaneously across dimensional planes that were created out of nothing at the moment of the Big Bang some 13.8 billion years ago. Only in very few of these dimensions can a species like humanity come into being.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’m not sure either of these stories from the past week is particularly important in and of itself, but since I try and keep up on trends in theoretical physics, and two is a trend, here’s some news from two … Continue reading