3quarksdaily: Edward Witten on String theory

« Defending Muslim Law From Those Invoking It | Main | What It Cost Eight Women Writers To Make It In New York »

April 18, 2012

Edward Witten on String theory

The man most physicists refer to as the "Einstein of our day" or the "most intelligent human alive" talks about his life's work here.

Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 08:10 AM | Permalink

Comments

Sirs, time and space are simply due to the expansion of the universe. It is not only expanding at the periphery but also around us and through us at the accidental rate of 300,000kms. That is what causes the speed of light. Since the big bang it has kept on expanding creating New Space - the Primary dimension. It also determines the creation and destruction of atomic Standard Model particle species such as quarks etc. If the expansion is too slow the energy levels too low for cohesive interactions - too fast and the energy levels too high. We live in a biology zone from the sun where water is fluid. Likewise if the expansion to slow no atoms and too fast no atoms. we do not need to invent supernatural particles to understand nature. The book Absolute relativity - theory of everything explains it beautifully. We live in 4 real spatial dimension not 3 + temporal time as Einstein lead us to believe since 1904.

Posted by: edward johnson | Apr 18, 2012 2:15:17 PM

Additionally, once we realise that the expansion is causing the production of real spacetime not our limited understanding of space and time then we can advance our understanding of ourselves and the universe. There are no constants in the universe, things are only what they are on the day. the speed of light is a constant at the moment in our observation but it can change if nature wants to. The Entire Universe can destroy itself in less than 1 second. Simply because Ut universal time is symmetrical and everything will be affected at the same time. Which means if the expansion changes to cause the reduction of the atomic zero ground state - Every atom in the entire universe will dissociate - causing the end of the universe simultaneously. Not the big crunch but the Big Vanish! as all baryonic matter will simply vanish into a cloud of energy!

Posted by: edward johnson | Apr 18, 2012 2:22:12 PM

In which case, wouldn't the contraction of space-time cause the reversal of time? And if the creation of our space-time is a quantum fluctuation, why aren't there pockets within our universe where space-time is contracting - i.e, why haven't observers seen time go backwards anywhere in the observable universe? Finally, if it took "time" for the current universe that we live in to form, why would the end of the universe be asymmetrically instantaneous instead of taking just as long?

Posted by: Sam | Apr 19, 2012 1:51:57 AM

The science of physics is largely an experimental one. Experiments are performed which are repeatable by others at different places and times in the Universe. The repeatability requirement makes them convincing to others over time. This is the essence of the Scientific Method basically elucidated by the world’s greatest physicist Galileo Galilei centuries ago.
Our conceptual development of the world of atoms and molecules is based on experimental results not theoretical speculations however “smart” an individual may be. Few in history have been able to anticipate experimental results before the fact.
Where would we be without the experiments of J. J. Thompson on the electron or the experiments of Rutherford demonstrating the “nuclear atom” over a century ago? Where would we be without the “kitchen table” experiments by Millikan which demonstrated electric charge existed in only integral units of the charge on an electron and in no other units? Or the experiments on blackbody radiation which finally led to the “ultraviolet catastrophe” resolved by Max Planck and the introduction of the famous constant h which changed the interpretation of all former classical physics. One could go on and on and on, as with the spin of an electron determined from fine structure lines as proved by two graduate students in the Netherlands who were never even awarded a Nobel Prize for this seminal discovery; Goudsmit and Uhlenbeck.
But what are the experimental facts regarding gravitation? These facts have been mostly known for about 4 centuries with little new information in that time. Kepler’s laws and Newton’s laws of gravitation based on the experimentally observed motions of planets documented by Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Mechanics students used to do all sorts of fascinating calculations of the gravitational field inside different shapes. But these did not reach the issue of what that field is at very small distances.
What is the gravitational field inside an hydrogen atom? What is the gravitational field inside a proton or electron? We simply do not know because they have not been measured there. It is assumed to be zero inside a hydrogen atom because one gets the correct answer for the hydrogen energy levels by ignoring gravity, but this is a negative, not a positive result which is not convincing.
The classical gravitational field is valid for large distances only. This is indicated by the inverse r squared force law. The so called universal gravitational constant is valid only at large distances, not small ones. The Einstein field equations do not tell us what the field is at small distances precisely because they are classical equations with no h or planck’s constant anywhere in them. The greatest genius in the world cannot anticipate what the experimental result would be inside an electron or proton just as they could not anticipate that cancer cells are the result of oxygen deficiency over a long period of time from experimental facts, not genetic speculations by arm chair speculators. Wishing and hope do not make an experimental fact so.
No gravitational radiation has ever been observed either. Wishing does not make the so called speculated spin 2 “graviton” exist.
We may never have any understanding of gravitation at very small distances. I don’t know who those are embellishing the ego of Witten, but I am not one of them and I don’t know anyone who would aid his vanity with such nonsense. The greatest genius cannot anticipate experimental facts. Physics is at bottom an experimental science, not a theoretical one of speculation and guessing. Wishing and hope do not make a fact so. Perhaps this post of Witten should instead be in Vanity Fair. This is at least the second time it has been posted here.
I would speculate that it is very likely gravitation is the most fundamental force in nature, responsible for mass and likely even h; but who knows? Experiments run the show in physics. There is a big difference between speculating and proving statements. Proof, real convincing proof, is not easy to come by, especially absent experimental facts.
Comments from an expert in this field, equally or more qualified than Witten, who did a Ph.D. for W. Thirring in Vienna in this subject:
“….give CERN a chance: they claim (this fits well with Witten` s belief) that the LHC eventually produces mini-black holes at high energies close to 17 TeV, being a consequence of an enlarged modified gravity strength, which is due to extra spacial dimensions; this happens then at a very small distance between colliding protons!“

... this kind of hope can only be topped by religion! But you should add it as a postscript anyway!“

Posted by: WJAbbe | Apr 20, 2012 8:07:23 AM

Time has a zero or 1 value and is symmetrical across the universe. The only place where time exists is in our imagination and in Euclids 3 spatial dimensions. The universe provides us with the Primary spatial dimension into which one can locate Euclids 3D. If the expansion of the universe slows or closes all matter will simply dissapear instantaneously. The ability of new space being provided by the primary dimension also permits for the production of matter. If the primary dimension moves too fast or slow then energy cannot freeze into standard model particles. This is the philosophy of Edward Johnson author of Absolute relativity - theory of everything. Interesting and compelling New hypothesis in the world of physics.

Posted by: edward johnson | May 5, 2012 3:55:35 AM

3quarksdaily

An Eclectic Digest of Science, Art and Literature

April 18, 2012

Edward Witten on String theory

Comments

Post a comment

3QD on Facebook

3QD on Kindle

3QD by Daily Email

3QD on Twitter

Miscellany

Recent Comments

Acclaim For 3QD

The 3QD Prizes