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NARRATOR:
Now, on NOVA...
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Take a thrill ride into a world
stranger than science fiction,
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00:00:08,033 --> 00:00:10,533
where you play the game
by breaking some rules;
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00:00:10,566 --> 00:00:12,800
where a new view of the universe
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00:00:12,833 --> 00:00:16,366
pushes you beyond the limits
of your wildest imagination.
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00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,533
This is the world
of string theory--
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a way of describing every force
and all matter,
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00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,400
from an atom to Earth,
to the end of the galaxies;
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00:00:28,433 --> 00:00:32,466
from the birth of time
to its final tick--
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00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:36,700
in a single theory,
a theory of everything.
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00:00:38,166 --> 00:00:41,066
Our guide to this brave
new world is Brian Greene,
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00:00:41,100 --> 00:00:43,333
the best-selling author
and physicist.
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GREENE:
And no matter how many times
I come here,
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I never seem to get used to it.
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NARRATOR:
Can he help us solve
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00:00:51,500 --> 00:00:53,500
the greatest puzzle
of modern physics?
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(thunder crashing)
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That our understanding
of the universe
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is based on two sets of laws
that don't agree.
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(crash)
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NARRATOR:
Resolving that contradiction
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eluded even Einstein,
who made it his final quest.
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After decades, we may finally be
on the verge of a breakthrough.
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The solution is... strings--
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tiny bits of energy vibrating
like the strings on a cello,
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a cosmic symphony
at the heart of all reality.
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But it comes at a price--
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parallel universes
and 11 dimensions,
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most of which you've never seen.
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We really may live in a universe
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with more dimensions
than meet the eye.
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WOMAN:
People who've said that there
are extra dimensions of space
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have been labeled crackpots
or people who are bananas.
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NARRATOR:
A mirage of science
and mathematics,
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or the ultimate theory
of everything?
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MAN:
If string theory
fails to provide
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a testable prediction,
then nobody should believe it.
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Is that a theory of physics
or a philosophy?
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One thing that is certain...
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GREENE:
Is that string theory
is already showing us
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that the universe
may be a lot stranger
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than any of us
ever imagined.
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NARRATOR:
Coming up tonight...
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It all started with an apple.
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MAN:
The triumph
of Newton's equations come
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from the quest to understand
the planets and the stars.
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NARRATOR:
And we've come a long way since.
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Einstein gave the world
a new picture
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for what the force of gravity
actually is.
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NARRATOR:
Where he left off,
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string theorists now dare to go.
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But how close are they
to fulfilling Einstein's dream?
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Watch "The Elegant Universe"
right now.
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Major funding for NOVA is
provided by the following:
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(dog barking)
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(thunder)
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(door creaking)
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50 years ago,
this house was the scene
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of one of the greatest mysteries
of modern science--
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00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:02,533
a mystery so profound
that today
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thousands of scientists
on the cutting edge of physics
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are still trying to solve it.
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Albert Einstein spent
his last two decades
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in this modest home
in Princeton, New Jersey.
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And in his second floor study,
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Einstein relentlessly
sought a single theory
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so powerful it would describe
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all the workings
of the universe.
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Even as he neared
the end of his life,
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Einstein kept a notepad
close at hand,
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furiously trying to come up
with the equations
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for what would come to be known
as the "theory of everything."
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Convinced he was on the verge
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of the most important discovery
in the history of science,
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Einstein ran out of time,
his dream unfulfilled.
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Now, almost
a half-century later,
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Einstein's goal of unification--
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combining all the laws
of the universe
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in one all-encompassing theory--
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has become the holy grail
of modern physics,
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and we think we may at last
achieve Einstein's dream
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with a new and radical set
of ideas called string theory.
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But if this revolutionary theory
is right,
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we're in for quite a shock.
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(explosion)
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String theory says we may be
living in a universe
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where reality
meets science fiction...
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a universe of 11 dimensions
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with parallel universes
right next door.
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An elegant universe,
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composed entirely
of the music of strings.
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(playing slow, even notes)
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But for all its ambition,
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the basic idea of string theory
is surprisingly simple.
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It says that everything
in the universe,
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from the tiniest particle
to the most distant star,
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is made from one kind
of ingredient:
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unimaginably small,
vibrating strands of energy
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called strings.
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(cellists playing in harmony)
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Just as the strings of a cello
can give rise
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to a rich variety
of musical notes...
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the tiny strings
in string theory vibrate
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in a multitude
of different ways,
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making up all the constituents
of nature.
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In other words, the universe
is like a grand cosmic symphony,
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resonating with all
the various notes
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these tiny, vibrating strands
of energy can play.
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String theory is still
in its infancy,
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but it's already revealing
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a radically new picture
of the universe,
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one that is both strange
and beautiful.
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But what makes us think
we can understand
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all the complexity
of the universe,
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let alone reduce it to
a single theory of everything?
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We have R mu nu minus
a half g mu nu R--
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you remember how this goes--
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equals eight pi g T mu nu.
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Comes from varying
the Einstein-Hilbert Action,
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and we get the field equations
and this term.
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You remember
what this is called.
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(barks twice)
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No, that's the scalar curvature.
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This is the Ricci Tensor.
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(sighs)
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Have you been
studying this at all?
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GREENE:
No matter how hard you try,
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you can't teach physics
to a dog.
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Their brains just aren't wired
to grasp it.
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00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:05,666
But what about us?
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How do we know that we're wired
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to comprehend the deepest laws
of the universe?
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Well, physicists today
are confident that we are,
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and we're picking up
where Einstein left off
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in his quest for unification.
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Unification would be
the formulation of a law
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that describes perhaps
everything in the known universe
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from one single idea,
one master equation.
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And we think that there might
be this master equation
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because throughout the course
of the last 200 years or so,
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our understanding
of the universe
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has given us a variety
of explanations
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that are all pointing
towards one spot.
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They seem to all be converging
on one nugget of an idea
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that we're still trying to find.
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MAN:
Unification is where it's at.
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Unification is what we're trying
to accomplish.
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00:09:06,500 --> 00:09:08,966
The whole aim
of fundamental physics
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00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:12,400
is to see more and more
of the world's phenomena
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00:09:12,433 --> 00:09:17,033
in terms of fewer and fewer and
simpler and simpler principles.
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00:09:18,866 --> 00:09:22,000
MAN:
We feel, as physicists,
that if we can explain
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a wide number of phenomena
in a very simple manner,
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that that's somehow progress.
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There is almost
an emotional aspect
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to the way in which
the great theories in physics
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sort of encompass a wide variety
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of apparently different
physical phenomena.
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So this idea that
we should be aiming
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to unify our understanding
is inherent, essentially,
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to the whole way in which
this kind of science progresses.
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GREENE:
And long before Einstein,
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the quest for unification began
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with the most famous accident
in the history of science.
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As the story goes,
one day in 1665,
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a young man was sitting under
a tree when all of a sudden,
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he saw an apple fall from above.
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00:10:10,866 --> 00:10:12,800
And with the fall of that apple,
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00:10:12,833 --> 00:10:16,233
Isaac Newton revolutionized
our picture of the universe.
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00:10:16,266 --> 00:10:19,800
In an audacious proposal
for his time,
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Newton proclaimed that the force
pulling apples to the ground...
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and the force keeping the moon
in orbit around the earth
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were actually one and the same.
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In one fell swoop,
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Newton unified the heavens
and the earth
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in a single theory
he called gravity.
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WEINBERG:
The unification of the celestial
with the terrestrial--
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that the same laws that govern
the planets in their motions
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govern the tides and the falling
of fruit here on earth.
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It was a fantastic unification
of our picture of nature.
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00:11:02,533 --> 00:11:06,166
Gravity was the first force
to be understood scientifically,
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00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,166
though three more
would eventually follow.
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And although Newton discovered
his law of gravity
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more than 300 years ago,
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00:11:13,733 --> 00:11:15,666
his equations
describing this force
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make such accurate predictions
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that we still make use
of them today.
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In fact, scientists needed
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00:11:21,566 --> 00:11:24,166
nothing more
than Newton's equations
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to plot the course of a rocket
that landed men on the moon.
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00:11:28,633 --> 00:11:30,500
MAN (over radio):
Eleven, this is Houston.
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00:11:30,533 --> 00:11:33,233
GREENE:
Yet, there was a problem.
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While his laws described
the strength of gravity
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with great accuracy,
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Newton was harboring
an embarrassing secret:
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He had no idea how gravity
actually works.
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For nearly 250 years,
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scientists were content
to look the other way
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00:11:59,466 --> 00:12:01,800
when confronted
with this mystery.
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00:12:03,866 --> 00:12:05,800
But in the early 1900s,
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00:12:05,833 --> 00:12:10,133
an unknown clerk working
in the Swiss patent office
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00:12:10,166 --> 00:12:12,833
would change all that.
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00:12:12,866 --> 00:12:15,500
While reviewing
patent applications,
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00:12:15,533 --> 00:12:19,833
Albert Einstein was also
pondering the behavior of light.
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00:12:19,866 --> 00:12:23,666
And little did Einstein know
that his musings on light
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00:12:23,700 --> 00:12:28,033
would lead him to solve Newton's
mystery of what gravity is.
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00:12:29,633 --> 00:12:35,166
At the age of 26, Einstein
made a startling discovery--
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00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:41,100
that the velocity of light
is a kind of cosmic speed limit,
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00:12:41,133 --> 00:12:45,200
a speed that nothing
in the universe can exceed.
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00:12:45,233 --> 00:12:49,433
But no sooner had the young
Einstein published this idea
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than he found himself squaring
off with the father of gravity.
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00:12:58,300 --> 00:12:59,833
The trouble was
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00:12:59,866 --> 00:13:04,133
the idea that nothing can go
faster than the speed of light
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00:13:04,166 --> 00:13:07,633
flew in the face
of Newton's picture of gravity.
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00:13:10,333 --> 00:13:15,433
To understand this conflict, we
have to run a few experiments.
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00:13:16,866 --> 00:13:21,366
And to begin with, let's create
a cosmic catastrophe.
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00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,266
Imagine that all of a sudden
and without any warning,
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00:13:25,300 --> 00:13:28,466
the sun vaporizes
and completely disappears.
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00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,900
Now let's replay
that catastrophe
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00:13:33,933 --> 00:13:36,933
and see what effect
it would have on the planets
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00:13:36,966 --> 00:13:38,766
according to Newton.
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00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:44,266
Newton's theory predicts that
with the destruction of the sun,
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00:13:44,300 --> 00:13:49,100
the planets would immediately
fly out of their orbits,
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00:13:49,133 --> 00:13:51,400
careening off into space.
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00:13:56,166 --> 00:13:59,800
In other words, Newton thought
that gravity was a force
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00:13:59,833 --> 00:14:02,933
that acts instantaneously
across any distance,
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00:14:02,966 --> 00:14:05,733
and so we would immediately
feel the effect
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00:14:05,766 --> 00:14:07,433
of the sun's destruction.
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00:14:07,466 --> 00:14:10,866
But Einstein saw a big problem
with Newton's theory--
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00:14:10,900 --> 00:14:16,566
a problem that arose
from his work with light.
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00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:21,000
Einstein knew light doesn't
travel instantaneously.
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00:14:21,033 --> 00:14:25,366
In fact, it takes eight minutes
for the sun's rays
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00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:30,266
to travel the 93 million miles
to the earth.
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00:14:30,300 --> 00:14:35,300
And since he had shown that
nothing, not even gravity,
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00:14:35,333 --> 00:14:38,100
can travel faster than light,
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00:14:38,133 --> 00:14:41,766
how could the earth
be released from orbit
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00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:46,866
before the darkness resulting
from the sun's disappearance
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00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:48,433
reached our eyes?
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00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,466
To the young upstart
from the Swiss patent office,
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00:14:58,500 --> 00:15:02,066
anything outrunning light
was impossible,
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00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:07,500
and that meant the 250-year-old
Newtonian picture of gravity
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00:15:07,533 --> 00:15:09,233
was wrong.
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00:15:09,266 --> 00:15:13,800
MAN:
If Newton is wrong,
then why do the planets stay up?
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00:15:13,833 --> 00:15:18,166
Because remember, the triumph
of Newton's equations
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00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:20,966
come from the quest
to understand
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00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,733
the planets and the stars,
and particularly the problem
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00:15:23,766 --> 00:15:26,366
of why do the planets
have the orbits that they do.
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00:15:27,966 --> 00:15:29,466
And with Newton's equations,
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00:15:29,500 --> 00:15:32,100
you can calculate the way
that the planets will move.
249
00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,566
Einstein's got to resolve
this dilemma.
250
00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:40,566
GREENE:
In his late 20s,
Einstein had to come up
251
00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:42,766
with a new picture
of the universe
252
00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,466
in which gravity does not exceed
the cosmic speed limit.
253
00:15:46,500 --> 00:15:49,766
Still working his day job
in the patent office,
254
00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:54,033
Einstein embarked on a solitary
quest to solve this mystery.
255
00:15:57,266 --> 00:16:01,466
After nearly ten years
of wracking his brain,
256
00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:06,066
he found the answer
in a new kind of unification.
257
00:16:08,333 --> 00:16:13,066
MAN:
Einstein came to think
of the three dimensions of space
258
00:16:13,100 --> 00:16:15,733
and the single dimension of time
259
00:16:15,766 --> 00:16:19,900
as bound together in
a single fabric of space-time.
260
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,500
It was his hope that
by understanding
261
00:16:27,533 --> 00:16:32,966
the geometry of this
four-dimensional fabric of
space-time
262
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,700
that he could simply talk about
things moving along surfaces
263
00:16:37,733 --> 00:16:39,833
in this space-time fabric.
264
00:16:41,266 --> 00:16:44,233
GREENE:
Like the surface
of a trampoline,
265
00:16:44,266 --> 00:16:47,333
this unified fabric
is warped and stretched
266
00:16:47,366 --> 00:16:50,266
by heavy objects
like planets and stars.
267
00:16:51,900 --> 00:16:56,100
And it's this warping,
or curving, of space-time
268
00:16:56,133 --> 00:16:59,400
that creates what we feel
as gravity.
269
00:17:00,733 --> 00:17:03,133
A planet like the earth
is kept in orbit
270
00:17:03,166 --> 00:17:05,033
not because the sun reaches out
271
00:17:05,066 --> 00:17:08,599
and instantaneously grabs hold
of it as in Newton's theory,
272
00:17:08,633 --> 00:17:12,066
but simply because it follows
curves in the spatial fabric
273
00:17:12,099 --> 00:17:13,866
caused by the sun's presence.
274
00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:16,566
So, with this new understanding
of gravity,
275
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:18,833
let's rerun
the cosmic catastrophe.
276
00:17:18,866 --> 00:17:22,000
Let's see what happens now
if the sun disappears.
277
00:17:23,833 --> 00:17:26,766
The gravitational disturbance
that results
278
00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:30,700
will form a wave that travels
across the spatial fabric
279
00:17:30,733 --> 00:17:34,566
in much the same way that
a pebble dropped into a pond
280
00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,733
makes ripples that travel
across the surface of the water.
281
00:17:38,766 --> 00:17:43,666
So we wouldn't feel a change
in our orbit around the sun
282
00:17:43,700 --> 00:17:47,933
until this wave
reached the earth.
283
00:17:47,966 --> 00:17:53,000
What's more, Einstein calculated
that these ripples of gravity
284
00:17:53,033 --> 00:17:56,033
travel at exactly
the speed of light.
285
00:17:58,366 --> 00:18:00,600
And so, with this new approach,
286
00:18:00,633 --> 00:18:03,700
Einstein resolved
the conflict with Newton
287
00:18:03,733 --> 00:18:05,933
over how fast gravity travels.
288
00:18:05,966 --> 00:18:09,433
And more than that, Einstein
gave the world a new picture
289
00:18:09,466 --> 00:18:11,966
for what the force of gravity
actually is:
290
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:18,366
it's warps and curves
in the fabric of space and time.
291
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,633
Einstein called this new picture
of gravity "general relativity,"
292
00:18:22,666 --> 00:18:25,333
and within a few short years,
293
00:18:25,366 --> 00:18:29,000
Albert Einstein became
a household name.
294
00:18:29,033 --> 00:18:32,000
GATES:
Einstein was like a rock star
in his day.
295
00:18:32,033 --> 00:18:34,600
He was one of
the most widely known
296
00:18:34,633 --> 00:18:37,000
and recognizable figures alive.
297
00:18:37,033 --> 00:18:39,400
He and perhaps Charlie Chaplin
were the reigning kings
298
00:18:39,433 --> 00:18:41,100
of the popular media.
299
00:18:42,466 --> 00:18:44,200
People followed his work.
300
00:18:44,233 --> 00:18:48,866
And they were anticipating,
because of this wonderful thing
301
00:18:48,900 --> 00:18:51,766
he had done
with general relativity--
302
00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,900
this recasting the laws
of gravity out of his head--
303
00:18:55,933 --> 00:18:58,133
there was the thought
he could do it again
304
00:18:58,166 --> 00:19:01,133
and they... you know,
people want to be in on that.
305
00:19:01,166 --> 00:19:04,366
GREENE:
Despite all that
he had achieved,
306
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,466
Einstein wasn't satisfied.
307
00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:09,766
He immediately set his sights
on an even grander goal:
308
00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,500
the unification of
his new picture of gravity
309
00:19:12,533 --> 00:19:17,266
with the only other force known
at the time, electromagnetism.
310
00:19:17,300 --> 00:19:22,200
Now, electromagnetism is a force
that had itself been unified
311
00:19:22,233 --> 00:19:24,433
only a few decades earlier.
312
00:19:24,466 --> 00:19:29,000
In the mid-1800s,
electricity and magnetism
313
00:19:29,033 --> 00:19:32,766
were sparking
scientists' interest.
314
00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,833
These two forces seemed to share
a curious relationship
315
00:19:37,866 --> 00:19:41,666
that inventors like Samuel Morse
were taking advantage of
316
00:19:41,700 --> 00:19:44,633
in newfangled devices
such as the telegraph.
317
00:19:44,666 --> 00:19:47,400
(telegraph clicking)
318
00:19:47,433 --> 00:19:50,800
An electrical pulse, sent
through a telegraph wire
319
00:19:50,833 --> 00:19:53,200
to a magnet thousands
of miles away,
320
00:19:53,233 --> 00:19:56,700
produced the familiar dots
and dashes of Morse code
321
00:19:56,733 --> 00:20:00,766
that allowed messages to be
transmitted across the continent
322
00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:02,633
in a fraction of a second.
323
00:20:04,233 --> 00:20:07,066
Although the telegraph
was a sensation,
324
00:20:07,100 --> 00:20:09,566
the fundamental science
driving it
325
00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,066
remained something of a mystery.
326
00:20:15,733 --> 00:20:21,033
But to a Scottish scientist
named James Clerk Maxwell,
327
00:20:21,066 --> 00:20:26,000
the relationship between
electricity and magnetism
328
00:20:26,033 --> 00:20:32,666
was so obvious in nature
that it demanded unification.
329
00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:34,300
(thunder)
330
00:20:34,333 --> 00:20:38,133
If you've ever been on top of a
mountain during a thunderstorm,
331
00:20:38,166 --> 00:20:42,200
you'll get the idea of how
electricity and magnetism
332
00:20:42,233 --> 00:20:43,833
are closely related.
333
00:20:43,866 --> 00:20:47,100
When a stream of electrically
charged particles flows,
334
00:20:47,133 --> 00:20:50,600
like in a bolt of lightning,
it creates a magnetic field,
335
00:20:50,633 --> 00:20:53,400
and you can see evidence of this
on a compass.
336
00:20:55,433 --> 00:20:56,466
(thunder)
337
00:20:58,966 --> 00:21:00,000
(thunder)
338
00:21:02,166 --> 00:21:05,000
Obsessed with this relationship,
339
00:21:05,033 --> 00:21:08,400
the Scot was determined
to explain the connection
340
00:21:08,433 --> 00:21:10,666
between electricity
and magnetism
341
00:21:10,700 --> 00:21:14,400
in the language of mathematics.
342
00:21:14,433 --> 00:21:16,666
Casting new light
on the subject,
343
00:21:16,700 --> 00:21:18,433
Maxwell devised a set
344
00:21:18,466 --> 00:21:21,833
of four elegant
mathematical equations...
345
00:21:25,766 --> 00:21:29,700
that unified electricity
and magnetism
346
00:21:29,733 --> 00:21:34,133
in a single force
called electromagnetism.
347
00:21:35,866 --> 00:21:38,533
And like Isaac Newton
before him,
348
00:21:38,566 --> 00:21:42,500
Maxwell's unification
took science a step closer
349
00:21:42,533 --> 00:21:45,900
to cracking the code
of the universe.
350
00:21:45,933 --> 00:21:48,500
MAN:
That was really
the remarkable thing
351
00:21:48,533 --> 00:21:50,500
that these different phenomena
352
00:21:50,533 --> 00:21:52,633
were really connected
in this way.
353
00:21:52,666 --> 00:21:55,600
And it's another example
of diverse phenomena
354
00:21:55,633 --> 00:21:58,666
coming from a single
underlying building block
355
00:21:58,700 --> 00:22:00,866
or a single
underlying principle.
356
00:22:00,900 --> 00:22:06,033
Imagine that everything
that you can think of
357
00:22:06,066 --> 00:22:08,800
which has to do
with electricity and magnetism
358
00:22:08,833 --> 00:22:15,100
can all be written
in four very simple equations.
359
00:22:15,133 --> 00:22:17,566
Isn't that incredible?
360
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:19,166
Isn't that amazing?
361
00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,033
I call that elegant.
362
00:22:21,066 --> 00:22:22,833
Einstein thought that this
363
00:22:22,866 --> 00:22:26,366
was one of the triumphant
moments of all of physics
364
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,133
and admired Maxwell hugely
for what he had done.
365
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,566
About 50 years
366
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,533
after Maxwell unified
electricity and magnetism,
367
00:22:35,566 --> 00:22:38,400
Einstein was confident
that if he could unify
368
00:22:38,433 --> 00:22:42,133
his new theory of gravity
with Maxwell's electromagnetism,
369
00:22:42,166 --> 00:22:45,133
he'd be able to formulate
a master equation
370
00:22:45,166 --> 00:22:50,400
that could describe everything,
the entire universe.
371
00:22:50,433 --> 00:22:54,233
Einstein clearly believes
that the universe has
372
00:22:54,266 --> 00:22:57,366
an overall grand
and beautiful pattern
373
00:22:57,400 --> 00:22:59,100
to the way that it works.
374
00:23:00,333 --> 00:23:01,800
And so to answer the question,
375
00:23:01,833 --> 00:23:03,600
why was he looking
for the unification?
376
00:23:03,633 --> 00:23:05,766
I think the answer is simply
377
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,800
that Einstein is one
of those physicists
378
00:23:08,833 --> 00:23:11,900
who really wants to know
the mind of God,
379
00:23:11,933 --> 00:23:14,366
which means the entire picture.
380
00:23:17,833 --> 00:23:23,433
GREENE:
Today this is the goal
of string theory--
381
00:23:23,466 --> 00:23:27,000
to unify our understanding
of everything
382
00:23:27,033 --> 00:23:30,000
from the birth
of the universe
383
00:23:30,033 --> 00:23:33,300
to the majestic swirl
of galaxies
384
00:23:33,333 --> 00:23:38,633
in just one set of principles--
one master equation.
385
00:23:41,100 --> 00:23:44,900
Newton had unified the heavens
and the earth
386
00:23:44,933 --> 00:23:47,166
in the theory of gravity.
387
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:53,433
Maxwell had unified electricity
and magnetism.
388
00:23:53,466 --> 00:23:55,766
Einstein reasoned
all that remained
389
00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:57,966
to build a theory
of everything--
390
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,366
a single theory
that could encompass
391
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:02,500
all the laws of the universe--
392
00:24:02,533 --> 00:24:07,433
was to merge his new picture of
gravity with electromagnetism.
393
00:24:07,466 --> 00:24:09,266
WOMAN:
He certainly had motivation.
394
00:24:09,300 --> 00:24:11,866
Probably one of them might
have been aesthetics,
395
00:24:11,900 --> 00:24:13,833
or this quest to simplify.
396
00:24:13,866 --> 00:24:16,333
Another one might have been
just the physical fact
397
00:24:16,366 --> 00:24:18,300
that it seems like
the speed of gravity
398
00:24:18,333 --> 00:24:19,900
is equal to the speed of light.
399
00:24:21,566 --> 00:24:23,633
So if they both go
at the same speed,
400
00:24:23,666 --> 00:24:28,100
then maybe that's an indication
of some underlying symmetry.
401
00:24:28,133 --> 00:24:30,666
GREENE:
But as Einstein began trying
402
00:24:30,700 --> 00:24:33,266
to unite gravity
and electromagnetism,
403
00:24:33,300 --> 00:24:36,233
he would find that
the difference in strength
404
00:24:36,266 --> 00:24:40,866
between these two forces would
outweigh their similarities.
405
00:24:40,900 --> 00:24:42,200
Let me show you what I mean.
406
00:24:43,733 --> 00:24:47,566
We tend to think that gravity
is a powerful force.
407
00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:49,700
After all, it's the force
408
00:24:49,733 --> 00:24:52,966
that right now is anchoring me
to this ledge.
409
00:24:55,433 --> 00:24:57,600
But compared
to electromagnetism,
410
00:24:57,633 --> 00:24:59,633
it's actually terribly feeble.
411
00:24:59,666 --> 00:25:03,166
In fact, there's a simple
little test to show this.
412
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:07,066
Imagine that I was to leap
from this rather tall building.
413
00:25:07,100 --> 00:25:09,466
Actually, let's not
just imagine it.
414
00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:10,466
Let's do it.
415
00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:12,266
You'll see what I mean.
416
00:25:31,033 --> 00:25:33,833
Now, of course, I really
should have been flattened.
417
00:25:33,866 --> 00:25:36,100
But the important question is:
418
00:25:36,133 --> 00:25:38,066
what kept me from crashing
through the sidewalk
419
00:25:38,100 --> 00:25:40,900
and hurtling right down
to the center of the earth?
420
00:25:43,666 --> 00:25:49,400
Well, strange as it sounds,
the answer is electromagnetism.
421
00:25:49,433 --> 00:25:53,700
Everything we can see
from you and me to the sidewalk
422
00:25:53,733 --> 00:25:57,266
is made of tiny bits of matter
called atoms.
423
00:25:57,300 --> 00:26:00,166
And the outer shell
of every atom
424
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:03,633
contains a negative
electrical charge.
425
00:26:03,666 --> 00:26:07,500
So when my atoms collide
with the atoms in the cement,
426
00:26:07,533 --> 00:26:11,833
these electrical charges repel
each other with such strength
427
00:26:11,866 --> 00:26:14,366
that just a little piece
of sidewalk
428
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,033
can resist the entire
earth's gravity
429
00:26:17,066 --> 00:26:18,866
and stop me from falling.
430
00:26:18,900 --> 00:26:21,900
In fact,
the electromagnetic force
431
00:26:21,933 --> 00:26:26,966
is billions and billions
of times stronger than gravity.
432
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:28,666
MAN:
That seems a little strange
433
00:26:28,700 --> 00:26:31,133
because gravity keeps our feet
to the ground,
434
00:26:31,166 --> 00:26:33,333
it keeps the earth
going around the sun.
435
00:26:33,366 --> 00:26:35,466
But in actual fact,
it manages to do that
436
00:26:35,500 --> 00:26:36,800
only because it acts
437
00:26:36,833 --> 00:26:39,033
on huge, enormous
conglomerates of matter--
438
00:26:39,066 --> 00:26:41,200
you know, you, me,
the earth, the sun.
439
00:26:41,233 --> 00:26:43,766
But really at the level
of individual atoms,
440
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,566
gravity is a really
incredibly feeble, tiny force.
441
00:26:51,900 --> 00:26:54,933
GREENE:
It would be an uphill battle
for Einstein
442
00:26:54,966 --> 00:26:58,566
to unify these two forces
of wildly different strengths.
443
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:03,533
And to make matters worse,
barely had he begun
444
00:27:03,566 --> 00:27:06,266
before sweeping changes
in the world of physics
445
00:27:06,300 --> 00:27:09,333
would leave him behind.
446
00:27:09,366 --> 00:27:15,033
WEINBERG:
Einstein had achieved so much
in the years up to about 1920
447
00:27:15,066 --> 00:27:18,900
that he naturally expected
that he could go on
448
00:27:18,933 --> 00:27:21,966
by playing the same
theoretical games
449
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,733
and go on achieving
great things.
450
00:27:24,766 --> 00:27:25,966
And he couldn't.
451
00:27:28,266 --> 00:27:33,866
Nature revealed itself in other
ways in the 1920s and 1930s,
452
00:27:33,900 --> 00:27:36,700
and the particular
tricks and tools
453
00:27:36,733 --> 00:27:39,366
that Einstein
had at his disposal
454
00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,500
that had been
so fabulously successful
455
00:27:42,533 --> 00:27:45,466
just weren't applicable anymore.
456
00:27:49,833 --> 00:27:53,866
GREENE:
You see, in the 1920s,
a group of young scientists
457
00:27:53,900 --> 00:27:56,266
stole the spotlight
from Einstein
458
00:27:56,300 --> 00:27:59,533
when they came up
with an outlandish new way
459
00:27:59,566 --> 00:28:01,633
of thinking about physics.
460
00:28:03,633 --> 00:28:08,166
Their vision of the universe
was so strange
461
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,766
it makes science fiction
look tame,
462
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:14,433
and it turned Einstein's quest
for unification on its head.
463
00:28:14,466 --> 00:28:17,433
MECHANICAL VOICE:
Unification, unification.
464
00:28:19,700 --> 00:28:23,000
GREENE:
Led by Danish physicist
Niels Bohr,
465
00:28:23,033 --> 00:28:25,900
these scientists were uncovering
466
00:28:25,933 --> 00:28:29,066
an entirely new realm
of the universe.
467
00:28:29,100 --> 00:28:31,533
Atoms-- long thought to be
468
00:28:31,566 --> 00:28:34,633
the smallest constituents
of nature--
469
00:28:34,666 --> 00:28:38,666
were found to consist
of even smaller particles,
470
00:28:38,700 --> 00:28:42,733
the now familiar nucleus
of protons and neutrons
471
00:28:42,766 --> 00:28:44,800
orbited by electrons.
472
00:28:44,833 --> 00:28:47,533
And the theories
of Einstein and Maxwell
473
00:28:47,566 --> 00:28:49,566
were useless at explaining
474
00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,400
the bizarre way
these tiny bits of matter
475
00:28:52,433 --> 00:28:55,200
interact with each other
inside the atom.
476
00:28:55,233 --> 00:28:57,200
GALISON:
There was a tremendous mystery
477
00:28:57,233 --> 00:29:00,033
about how to account
for all this--
478
00:29:00,066 --> 00:29:04,400
how to account for what was
happening to the nucleus
479
00:29:04,433 --> 00:29:08,233
as the atom began to be
pried apart in different ways.
480
00:29:08,266 --> 00:29:11,400
And the old theories
were totally inadequate
481
00:29:11,433 --> 00:29:13,933
to the task of explaining them.
482
00:29:13,966 --> 00:29:17,066
Gravity was irrelevant--
it was far too weak--
483
00:29:17,100 --> 00:29:20,366
and electricity and magnetism
was not sufficient.
484
00:29:24,166 --> 00:29:27,600
GREENE:
Without a theory to explain
this strange new world,
485
00:29:27,633 --> 00:29:34,200
these scientists were lost in
an unfamiliar atomic territory
486
00:29:34,233 --> 00:29:38,700
looking for
any recognizable landmarks.
487
00:29:55,133 --> 00:29:58,333
Then in the late 1920s,
all that changed.
488
00:29:58,366 --> 00:30:00,300
During those years,
489
00:30:00,333 --> 00:30:04,233
physicists developed a new
theory called quantum mechanics,
490
00:30:04,266 --> 00:30:06,266
and it was able to describe
491
00:30:06,300 --> 00:30:08,966
the microscopic realm
with great success.
492
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,900
But here's the thing:
493
00:30:10,933 --> 00:30:14,633
quantum mechanics
was so radical a theory
494
00:30:14,666 --> 00:30:16,066
that it completely shattered
495
00:30:16,100 --> 00:30:18,400
all previous ways
of looking at the universe.
496
00:30:20,066 --> 00:30:22,400
Einstein's theories demand
497
00:30:22,433 --> 00:30:26,033
that the universe
is orderly and predictable.
498
00:30:27,366 --> 00:30:30,333
But Niels Bohr disagreed.
499
00:30:30,366 --> 00:30:31,800
He and his colleagues proclaimed
500
00:30:31,833 --> 00:30:33,633
that at the scale
of atoms and particles,
501
00:30:33,666 --> 00:30:37,366
the world is a game of chance.
502
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:43,166
At the atomic or quantum level,
uncertainty rules.
503
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:47,566
The best you can do
according to quantum mechanics
504
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:51,000
is predict the chance,
or probability,
505
00:30:51,033 --> 00:30:53,400
of one outcome or another.
506
00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:56,600
And this strange idea...
507
00:30:56,633 --> 00:30:58,466
Thanks.
508
00:30:58,500 --> 00:31:03,566
opened the door to an unsettling
new picture of reality.
509
00:31:10,066 --> 00:31:11,700
It was so unsettling
510
00:31:11,733 --> 00:31:15,000
that if the bizarre features
of quantum mechanics
511
00:31:15,033 --> 00:31:17,566
were noticeable
in our everyday world,
512
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,200
like they are here
in the Quantum Café,
513
00:31:20,233 --> 00:31:22,700
you might think
you'd lost your mind.
514
00:31:22,733 --> 00:31:25,133
LEWIN:
The laws in the quantum world
515
00:31:25,166 --> 00:31:28,633
are very different from
the laws that we are used to.
516
00:31:28,666 --> 00:31:31,500
Our daily experiences
are totally different
517
00:31:31,533 --> 00:31:34,666
from anything that you would see
in the quantum world.
518
00:31:34,700 --> 00:31:36,333
The quantum world is crazy.
519
00:31:36,366 --> 00:31:38,266
It's probably
the best way to put it.
520
00:31:38,300 --> 00:31:39,466
It's a crazy world.
521
00:31:39,500 --> 00:31:41,133
For nearly 80 years,
522
00:31:41,166 --> 00:31:43,766
quantum mechanics
has successfully claimed
523
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,300
that the strange and bizarre
are typical
524
00:31:46,333 --> 00:31:48,400
of how our universe
actually behaves
525
00:31:48,433 --> 00:31:50,233
on extremely small scales.
526
00:31:51,833 --> 00:31:56,433
At the scale of everyday life,
we don't directly experience
527
00:31:56,466 --> 00:31:59,200
the weirdness
of quantum mechanics.
528
00:31:59,233 --> 00:32:01,866
But here in the Quantum Café,
529
00:32:01,900 --> 00:32:04,266
big, everyday things
sometimes behave
530
00:32:04,300 --> 00:32:06,666
as if they were
microscopically tiny.
531
00:32:06,700 --> 00:32:09,366
And no matter
how many times I come here,
532
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:11,533
I never seem to get used to it.
533
00:32:12,566 --> 00:32:14,233
I'll have
an orange juice, please.
534
00:32:14,266 --> 00:32:16,400
I'll try.
535
00:32:16,433 --> 00:32:18,566
"I'll try," she says.
536
00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:23,766
You see, they're not
used to people
537
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,633
placing definite orders
here in the Quantum Café
538
00:32:26,666 --> 00:32:29,233
because here,
everything is ruled by chance.
539
00:32:29,266 --> 00:32:31,200
While I'd like an orange juice,
540
00:32:31,233 --> 00:32:33,366
there's only
a particular probability
541
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:35,200
that I'll actually get one.
542
00:32:40,900 --> 00:32:42,800
And there's no reason
to be disappointed
543
00:32:42,833 --> 00:32:45,200
with one particular
outcome or another
544
00:32:45,233 --> 00:32:47,366
because quantum
mechanics suggests
545
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,300
that each of
the possibilities--
546
00:32:49,333 --> 00:32:52,033
like getting a yellow juice
or a red juice--
547
00:32:52,066 --> 00:32:53,633
may actually happen.
548
00:32:53,666 --> 00:32:55,466
They just happen to happen
549
00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:57,833
in universes that
are parallel to ours--
550
00:32:57,866 --> 00:33:00,800
universes that seem as
real to their inhabitants
551
00:33:00,833 --> 00:33:02,733
as our universe seems to us.
552
00:33:02,766 --> 00:33:05,533
LEWIN:
If there are a thousand
possibilities
553
00:33:05,566 --> 00:33:08,700
and quantum mechanics
cannot with certainty say
554
00:33:08,733 --> 00:33:10,466
which of the thousand
it will be,
555
00:33:10,500 --> 00:33:12,733
then all thousand will happen.
556
00:33:12,766 --> 00:33:14,600
Yeah, you can laugh at it
557
00:33:14,633 --> 00:33:17,266
and say,
"Well, that has to be wrong."
558
00:33:17,300 --> 00:33:19,433
But there are so many
other things in physics
559
00:33:19,466 --> 00:33:21,466
which at the time
that people came up with
560
00:33:21,500 --> 00:33:23,600
had to be wrong, but it wasn't.
561
00:33:23,633 --> 00:33:26,266
You have to be
a little careful, I think,
562
00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:28,733
before you say
this is clearly wrong.
563
00:33:31,500 --> 00:33:34,466
GREENE:
And even in our own universe,
564
00:33:34,500 --> 00:33:37,666
quantum mechanics says
there's a chance
565
00:33:37,700 --> 00:33:40,300
that things we'd ordinarily
think of as impossible
566
00:33:40,333 --> 00:33:43,966
can actually happen.
567
00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:48,000
For example, there's a chance
that particles
568
00:33:48,033 --> 00:33:51,700
can pass right through
walls or barriers
569
00:33:51,733 --> 00:33:54,566
that seem impenetrable
to you or me.
570
00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:56,100
There's even a chance
571
00:33:56,133 --> 00:33:59,333
that I could pass through
something solid, like a wall.
572
00:33:59,366 --> 00:34:01,333
Now, quantum calculations
do show
573
00:34:01,366 --> 00:34:04,966
that the probability for this
to happen in the everyday world
574
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,133
is so small
that I'd need to continue
575
00:34:07,166 --> 00:34:09,699
walking into the wall
for nearly an eternity
576
00:34:09,733 --> 00:34:12,566
before having a reasonable
chance of succeeding.
577
00:34:14,900 --> 00:34:19,300
But here, these kind of things
happen all the time.
578
00:34:19,333 --> 00:34:21,066
MAN:
You have to learn
579
00:34:21,100 --> 00:34:24,466
to abandon those assumptions
that you have about the world
580
00:34:24,500 --> 00:34:26,900
in order to understand
quantum mechanics.
581
00:34:26,933 --> 00:34:30,100
In my gut, in my belly,
do I feel like I have
582
00:34:30,133 --> 00:34:33,900
a deep, intuitive understanding
of quantum mechanics?
583
00:34:33,933 --> 00:34:35,066
No.
584
00:34:36,466 --> 00:34:40,233
GREENE:
And neither did Einstein.
585
00:34:40,266 --> 00:34:43,366
He never lost faith
that the universe behaves
586
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:46,866
in a certain
and predictable way.
587
00:34:46,900 --> 00:34:50,100
The idea that all we can do
is calculate the odds
588
00:34:50,133 --> 00:34:54,233
that things will turn out
one way or another
589
00:34:54,266 --> 00:34:57,900
was something Einstein
deeply resisted.
590
00:34:57,933 --> 00:35:01,800
MAN:
Quantum mechanics says
that you can't know for certain
591
00:35:01,833 --> 00:35:04,133
the outcome of any experiment.
592
00:35:04,166 --> 00:35:06,900
You can only assign
a certain probability
593
00:35:06,933 --> 00:35:09,133
to the outcome
of any experiment.
594
00:35:09,166 --> 00:35:11,633
And this Einstein
disliked intensely.
595
00:35:11,666 --> 00:35:14,533
He used to say,
"God does not throw dice."
596
00:35:16,266 --> 00:35:21,566
GREENE:
Yet experiment after experiment
showed Einstein was wrong
597
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,833
and that quantum mechanics
really does describe
598
00:35:25,866 --> 00:35:29,766
how the world works
at the subatomic level.
599
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,633
LEWIN:
So quantum mechanics
is not a luxury--
600
00:35:32,666 --> 00:35:34,866
something that
you can do without.
601
00:35:34,900 --> 00:35:36,733
I mean,
why is water the way it is?
602
00:35:36,766 --> 00:35:38,966
Why does light
go straight through water?
603
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:40,266
Why is it transparent?
604
00:35:40,300 --> 00:35:42,233
Why are other things
not transparent?
605
00:35:42,266 --> 00:35:43,633
How do molecules form?
606
00:35:43,666 --> 00:35:45,800
Why are they reacting
the way they react?
607
00:35:45,833 --> 00:35:49,800
The moment that
you want to understand anything
608
00:35:49,833 --> 00:35:53,900
at an atomic level--
as nonintuitive as it is--
609
00:35:53,933 --> 00:35:58,066
at that moment you can only make
progress with quantum mechanics.
610
00:35:58,100 --> 00:36:02,000
FARHI:
Quantum mechanics
is fantastically accurate.
611
00:36:02,033 --> 00:36:06,633
There has never been a
prediction of quantum mechanics
612
00:36:06,666 --> 00:36:10,366
that has contradicted
an observation-- never.
613
00:36:13,366 --> 00:36:15,400
GREENE:
By the 1930s,
614
00:36:15,433 --> 00:36:19,566
Einstein's quest for unification
was floundering
615
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:22,666
while quantum mechanics
was unlocking
616
00:36:22,700 --> 00:36:25,200
the secrets of the atom.
617
00:36:25,233 --> 00:36:29,466
Scientists found that
gravity and electromagnetism
618
00:36:29,500 --> 00:36:33,233
are not the only forces
ruling the universe.
619
00:36:33,266 --> 00:36:36,133
Probing the structure
of the atom,
620
00:36:36,166 --> 00:36:39,933
they discovered two more forces.
621
00:36:39,966 --> 00:36:43,266
One, dubbed
the strong nuclear force,
622
00:36:43,300 --> 00:36:45,400
acts like a super-glue,
623
00:36:45,433 --> 00:36:49,333
holding the nucleus
of every atom together,
624
00:36:49,366 --> 00:36:52,866
binding protons to neutrons.
625
00:36:52,900 --> 00:36:56,866
And the other,
called the weak nuclear force,
626
00:36:56,900 --> 00:37:00,133
allows neutrons
to turn into protons,
627
00:37:00,166 --> 00:37:03,400
giving off radiation
in the process.
628
00:37:03,433 --> 00:37:04,766
At the quantum level,
629
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,200
the force we're most
familiar with-- gravity--
630
00:37:08,233 --> 00:37:11,733
was completely overshadowed
by electromagnetism
631
00:37:11,766 --> 00:37:14,033
and these two new forces.
632
00:37:15,833 --> 00:37:19,200
Now, the strong and weak forces
may seem obscure,
633
00:37:19,233 --> 00:37:20,633
but in one sense at least,
634
00:37:20,666 --> 00:37:22,900
we're all very much aware
of their power.
635
00:37:22,933 --> 00:37:27,733
At 5:29 on the morning
of July 16, 1945,
636
00:37:27,766 --> 00:37:29,700
that power was revealed
by an act
637
00:37:29,733 --> 00:37:32,133
that would change
the course of history.
638
00:37:32,166 --> 00:37:35,366
In the middle of the desert
in New Mexico,
639
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,666
at the top of a steel tower
640
00:37:37,700 --> 00:37:41,666
about a hundred feet above
the top of this monument,
641
00:37:41,700 --> 00:37:44,966
the first atomic bomb
was detonated.
642
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,266
It was only about
five feet across,
643
00:37:47,300 --> 00:37:50,233
but that bomb packed a punch
644
00:37:50,266 --> 00:37:54,300
equivalent to about
20,000 tons of TNT.
645
00:37:54,333 --> 00:37:57,833
(huge explosion)
646
00:38:00,166 --> 00:38:02,600
With that powerful explosion,
647
00:38:02,633 --> 00:38:07,333
scientists unleashed
the strong nuclear force--
648
00:38:07,366 --> 00:38:10,066
the force that keeps
neutrons and protons
649
00:38:10,100 --> 00:38:13,633
tightly glued together
inside the nucleus of an atom.
650
00:38:13,666 --> 00:38:15,933
By breaking the bonds
of that glue
651
00:38:15,966 --> 00:38:18,400
and splitting the atom apart...
652
00:38:20,033 --> 00:38:23,066
vast, truly unbelievable amounts
653
00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:26,300
of destructive energy
were released.
654
00:38:26,333 --> 00:38:29,700
(Geiger counter clicking)
655
00:38:31,100 --> 00:38:34,066
We can still detect remnants
of that explosion
656
00:38:34,100 --> 00:38:37,866
through the other nuclear
force-- the weak nuclear force--
657
00:38:37,900 --> 00:38:40,566
because it's responsible
for radioactivity.
658
00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:42,833
And today,
more than 50 years later,
659
00:38:42,866 --> 00:38:45,500
the radiation levels
around here are still
660
00:38:45,533 --> 00:38:48,566
about ten times higher
than normal.
661
00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:53,700
So although in comparison to
electromagnetism and gravity
662
00:38:53,733 --> 00:38:57,800
the nuclear forces act
over very small scales,
663
00:38:57,833 --> 00:39:01,900
their impact on everyday life
is every bit as profound.
664
00:39:04,633 --> 00:39:09,766
But what about gravity--
Einstein's general relativity?
665
00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:13,900
Where does that fit in
at the quantum level?
666
00:39:13,933 --> 00:39:16,733
Quantum mechanics tells us
667
00:39:16,766 --> 00:39:20,433
how all of nature's forces
work in the microscopic realm
668
00:39:20,466 --> 00:39:22,566
except for the force of gravity.
669
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,200
Absolutely no one could
figure out how gravity operates
670
00:39:26,233 --> 00:39:30,400
when you get down to the size of
atoms and subatomic particles.
671
00:39:30,433 --> 00:39:32,533
That is, no one could figure out
672
00:39:32,566 --> 00:39:36,133
how to put general relativity
and quantum mechanics
673
00:39:36,166 --> 00:39:39,100
together into one package.
674
00:39:42,466 --> 00:39:46,866
For decades, every attempt
to describe the force of gravity
675
00:39:46,900 --> 00:39:50,000
in the same language
as the other forces--
676
00:39:50,033 --> 00:39:52,566
the language
of quantum mechanics--
677
00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:54,200
has met with disaster.
678
00:39:54,233 --> 00:39:57,400
GATES:
You try to put those two
pieces of mathematics together,
679
00:39:57,433 --> 00:40:00,600
they do not coexist peacefully.
680
00:40:00,633 --> 00:40:02,933
You get answers that
the probabilities
681
00:40:02,966 --> 00:40:05,700
of the event you're looking at
are infinite.
682
00:40:05,733 --> 00:40:06,966
Nonsense.
683
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,000
It's not profound,
it's just nonsense.
684
00:40:09,033 --> 00:40:10,600
It's very ironic,
685
00:40:10,633 --> 00:40:14,100
because it was the first force
to actually be understood
686
00:40:14,133 --> 00:40:16,133
in some decent,
quantitative way,
687
00:40:16,166 --> 00:40:18,033
but it still remains split off
688
00:40:18,066 --> 00:40:20,466
and very different
from the other ones.
689
00:40:20,500 --> 00:40:23,566
The laws of nature are
supposed to apply everywhere.
690
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:26,800
So if Einstein's laws are
supposed to apply everywhere
691
00:40:26,833 --> 00:40:28,766
and the laws
of quantum mechanics
692
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:30,733
are supposed
to apply everywhere,
693
00:40:30,766 --> 00:40:33,533
well, you can't have
two separate everywheres.
694
00:40:39,033 --> 00:40:43,666
GREENE:
In 1933, after fleeing
Nazi Germany,
695
00:40:43,700 --> 00:40:47,033
Einstein settled
in Princeton, New Jersey.
696
00:40:47,066 --> 00:40:48,666
Working in solitude,
697
00:40:48,700 --> 00:40:51,300
he stubbornly
continued the quest
698
00:40:51,333 --> 00:40:54,433
he had begun
more than a decade earlier
699
00:40:54,466 --> 00:40:58,566
to unite gravity
and electromagnetism.
700
00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:01,133
Every few years,
headlines appeared
701
00:41:01,166 --> 00:41:04,700
proclaiming Einstein
was on the verge of success.
702
00:41:04,733 --> 00:41:09,033
But most of his colleagues
believed his quest was misguided
703
00:41:09,066 --> 00:41:12,466
and that his best days
were already behind him.
704
00:41:12,500 --> 00:41:14,800
WEINBERG:
Einstein in his later years
705
00:41:14,833 --> 00:41:18,266
got rather detached from
the work of physics in general
706
00:41:18,300 --> 00:41:20,533
and stopped reading
people's papers.
707
00:41:20,566 --> 00:41:21,933
I don't even think he knew
708
00:41:21,966 --> 00:41:24,333
there was such a thing
as the weak nuclear force.
709
00:41:24,366 --> 00:41:26,366
He didn't pay attention
to those things.
710
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,666
He kept working
on the same problem
711
00:41:28,700 --> 00:41:31,900
that he had started working on
as a younger man.
712
00:41:33,566 --> 00:41:36,600
GATES:
When the community
of theoretical physicists
713
00:41:36,633 --> 00:41:38,333
begin to probe the atom,
714
00:41:38,366 --> 00:41:41,766
Einstein very definitely
gets left out of the picture.
715
00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:46,133
He in some sense chooses
not to look at the physics
716
00:41:46,166 --> 00:41:48,933
coming from these experiments.
717
00:41:48,966 --> 00:41:53,366
Uh, that means that
the laws of quantum mechanics
718
00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:57,800
play no role in his sort of
further investigations.
719
00:41:57,833 --> 00:41:59,466
He's thought to be
720
00:41:59,500 --> 00:42:03,133
this doddering,
sympathetic, old figure
721
00:42:03,166 --> 00:42:08,533
who led an earlier revolution
but somehow fell out of it.
722
00:42:08,566 --> 00:42:13,666
It is as if a general who was
a master of horse cavalry,
723
00:42:13,700 --> 00:42:17,400
who has achieved great things
as a commander
724
00:42:17,433 --> 00:42:20,666
at the beginning
of the First World War,
725
00:42:20,700 --> 00:42:24,433
would try to bring
mounted cavalry into play
726
00:42:24,466 --> 00:42:28,266
against the barbed wire,
trenches and machine guns
727
00:42:28,300 --> 00:42:31,433
of the other side.
728
00:42:31,466 --> 00:42:35,966
GREENE:
Albert Einstein died
on April 18, 1955.
729
00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:40,766
And for many years
it seemed that Einstein's dream
730
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:44,633
of unifying the forces
in a single theory
731
00:42:44,666 --> 00:42:46,633
died with him.
732
00:42:46,666 --> 00:42:50,033
GATES:
So the quest for unification
733
00:42:50,066 --> 00:42:53,433
becomes a backwater of physics.
734
00:42:53,466 --> 00:42:57,766
By the time of Einstein's
death in the '50s,
735
00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:00,600
almost no serious physicists
736
00:43:00,633 --> 00:43:04,866
are engaged in this quest
for unification.
737
00:43:11,733 --> 00:43:15,766
In the years since, physics
split into two separate camps:
738
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:20,366
one that uses general relativity
to study big and heavy objects,
739
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:24,466
things like stars, galaxies
and the universe as a whole...
740
00:43:24,500 --> 00:43:27,500
and another that uses
quantum mechanics
741
00:43:27,533 --> 00:43:29,933
to study the tiniest
of objects
742
00:43:29,966 --> 00:43:31,933
like atoms
and particles.
743
00:43:31,966 --> 00:43:34,833
This has kind of been like
having two families
744
00:43:34,866 --> 00:43:38,533
that just cannot get along
and never talk to each other...
745
00:43:38,566 --> 00:43:41,266
living under the same roof.
746
00:43:41,300 --> 00:43:43,433
There just seemed
to be no way
747
00:43:43,466 --> 00:43:45,733
to combine
quantum mechanics...
748
00:43:45,766 --> 00:43:47,466
and general relativity
749
00:43:47,500 --> 00:43:49,733
in a single theory
that could describe
750
00:43:49,766 --> 00:43:52,233
the universe
on all scales.
751
00:43:56,833 --> 00:43:58,866
GREENE:
Now, in spite of this,
752
00:43:58,900 --> 00:44:04,033
we've made tremendous progress
in understanding the universe.
753
00:44:04,066 --> 00:44:06,133
But there's a catch.
754
00:44:06,166 --> 00:44:10,066
There are strange realms
of the cosmos
755
00:44:10,100 --> 00:44:13,300
that will never be
fully understood
756
00:44:13,333 --> 00:44:16,266
until we find a unified theory.
757
00:44:16,300 --> 00:44:20,066
And nowhere is this
more evident...
758
00:44:20,100 --> 00:44:24,933
than in the depths
of a black hole.
759
00:44:24,966 --> 00:44:28,566
A German astronomer
named Karl Schwarzschild
760
00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:33,633
first proposed what we now call
"black holes" in 1916...
761
00:44:33,666 --> 00:44:35,066
(bombs whistle)
762
00:44:35,100 --> 00:44:42,333
while stationed on the front
lines in World War I.
763
00:44:42,366 --> 00:44:46,700
He solved the equations
of Einstein's general relativity
764
00:44:46,733 --> 00:44:50,633
in a new and puzzling way.
765
00:44:50,666 --> 00:44:54,566
Between calculations
of artillery trajectories,
766
00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:59,433
Schwarzschild figured out
that an enormous amount of mass,
767
00:44:59,466 --> 00:45:04,566
like that of a very dense star
concentrated in a small area,
768
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:08,200
would warp the fabric
of space-time so severely...
769
00:45:08,233 --> 00:45:09,833
(explosion)
770
00:45:09,866 --> 00:45:12,433
that nothing, not even light,
771
00:45:12,466 --> 00:45:15,633
could escape
its gravitational pull.
772
00:45:18,133 --> 00:45:21,466
For decades,
physicists were skeptical
773
00:45:21,500 --> 00:45:24,366
that Schwarzschild's
calculations
774
00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:27,200
were anything more than theory.
775
00:45:27,233 --> 00:45:32,366
But today satellite telescopes
probing deep into space
776
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:37,666
are discovering regions
with enormous gravitational pull
777
00:45:37,700 --> 00:45:42,366
that most scientists believe
are black holes.
778
00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:48,100
Schwarzschild's theory
now seems to be reality.
779
00:45:48,133 --> 00:45:49,966
So here's the question.
780
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:52,400
If you're trying to figure out
781
00:45:52,433 --> 00:45:55,833
what happens
in the depths of a black hole,
782
00:45:55,866 --> 00:45:59,966
where an entire star
is crushed to a tiny speck,
783
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:02,766
do you use general relativity--
784
00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:06,000
because the star
is incredibly heavy--
785
00:46:06,033 --> 00:46:10,433
or quantum mechanics,
because it's incredibly tiny?
786
00:46:10,466 --> 00:46:12,733
Well, that's the problem.
787
00:46:12,766 --> 00:46:17,833
Since the center of a black hole
is both tiny and heavy,
788
00:46:17,866 --> 00:46:22,466
you can't avoid using both
theories at the same time.
789
00:46:22,500 --> 00:46:25,366
And when we try to put
the two theories together
790
00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:27,233
in the realm of black holes...
791
00:46:27,266 --> 00:46:28,666
they conflict, it breaks down.
792
00:46:28,700 --> 00:46:30,700
They give
nonsensical predictions,
793
00:46:30,733 --> 00:46:32,866
and the universe
is not nonsensical.
794
00:46:32,900 --> 00:46:34,433
It's got to make sense.
795
00:46:34,466 --> 00:46:37,133
Quantum mechanics works
really well for small things,
796
00:46:37,166 --> 00:46:39,200
and general relativity
works really well
797
00:46:39,233 --> 00:46:40,666
for stars and galaxies.
798
00:46:40,700 --> 00:46:43,366
But the atoms-- the small
things-- and the galaxies,
799
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:44,966
they're part
of the same universe,
800
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:46,833
so there has to be
some description
801
00:46:46,866 --> 00:46:48,366
that applies to everything.
802
00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:52,900
So we can't have one description
for atoms and one for stars.
803
00:46:52,933 --> 00:46:57,833
GREENE:
Now, with string theory,
we think we may have found a way
804
00:46:57,866 --> 00:47:02,566
to unite our theory of the large
and our theory of the small
805
00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:08,633
and make sense of the universe
at all scales and all places.
806
00:47:08,666 --> 00:47:12,000
Instead of a multitude
of tiny particles,
807
00:47:12,033 --> 00:47:16,733
string theory proclaims that
everything in the universe--
808
00:47:16,766 --> 00:47:19,000
all forces and all matter--
809
00:47:19,033 --> 00:47:21,733
is made of one
single ingredient:
810
00:47:21,766 --> 00:47:27,400
tiny vibrating strands of energy
known as strings.
811
00:47:27,433 --> 00:47:30,166
GREEN:
A string can wiggle
in many different ways,
812
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:32,066
whereas, of course,
a point can't.
813
00:47:32,100 --> 00:47:34,900
And the different ways
in which the string wiggles
814
00:47:34,933 --> 00:47:38,033
represent the different kinds
of elementary particles.
815
00:47:38,066 --> 00:47:39,866
It's like a violin string
816
00:47:39,900 --> 00:47:43,966
and it can vibrate just like
violin strings can vibrate.
817
00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:48,300
Each note, if you like,
describes a different particle.
818
00:47:48,333 --> 00:47:50,400
GREEN:
So it has incredible
unification power.
819
00:47:50,433 --> 00:47:52,233
It unifies our understanding
820
00:47:52,266 --> 00:47:54,966
of all these different
kinds of particles.
821
00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:58,233
So unity of the different forces
and particles is achieved
822
00:47:58,266 --> 00:48:01,100
because they all come from
different kinds of vibrations
823
00:48:01,133 --> 00:48:03,366
of the same basic string.
824
00:48:03,400 --> 00:48:08,866
GREENE:
It's a simple idea
with far-reaching consequences.
825
00:48:08,900 --> 00:48:11,900
What string theory does is
it holds out the promise
826
00:48:11,933 --> 00:48:14,600
that, look, we can really
understand questions
827
00:48:14,633 --> 00:48:16,700
that you might not
even have thought
828
00:48:16,733 --> 00:48:18,200
were scientific questions,
829
00:48:18,233 --> 00:48:21,666
questions about
how the universe began,
830
00:48:21,700 --> 00:48:24,033
why the universe is
the way it is
831
00:48:24,066 --> 00:48:26,300
at the most fundamental level.
832
00:48:26,333 --> 00:48:28,266
The idea
that a scientific theory
833
00:48:28,300 --> 00:48:30,266
that we already have
in our hands
834
00:48:30,300 --> 00:48:32,533
could answer
the most basic questions
835
00:48:32,566 --> 00:48:34,200
is extremely seductive.
836
00:48:34,233 --> 00:48:41,866
GREENE:
But this seductive new theory
is also controversial.
837
00:48:41,900 --> 00:48:45,533
Strings-- if they exist--
are so small
838
00:48:45,566 --> 00:48:49,233
there's little hope
of ever seeing one.
839
00:48:49,266 --> 00:48:51,200
LYKKEN:
String theory
and string theorists
840
00:48:51,233 --> 00:48:52,566
do have a real problem.
841
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:54,866
How do you actually test
string theory?
842
00:48:54,900 --> 00:48:58,466
If you can't test it in the way
that we test normal theories,
843
00:48:58,500 --> 00:49:00,466
it's not science,
it's philosophy,
844
00:49:00,500 --> 00:49:02,133
and that's a real problem.
845
00:49:02,166 --> 00:49:06,833
If string theory fails to
provide a testable prediction,
846
00:49:06,866 --> 00:49:09,400
then nobody should believe it.
847
00:49:09,433 --> 00:49:11,366
On the other hand,
848
00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:15,966
there's a kind of elegance
to these things,
849
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:17,400
and given the history
850
00:49:17,433 --> 00:49:20,666
of how theoretical physics
has evolved thus far,
851
00:49:20,700 --> 00:49:24,066
it is totally conceivable
that some,
852
00:49:24,100 --> 00:49:29,366
if not all, of these ideas
will turn out to be correct.
853
00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:33,066
I think a hundred years from
now, this particular period,
854
00:49:33,100 --> 00:49:37,233
when most of the brightest
young theoretical physicists
855
00:49:37,266 --> 00:49:41,666
worked on string theory will be
remembered as a heroic age,
856
00:49:41,700 --> 00:49:45,000
when theorists tried
and succeeded
857
00:49:45,033 --> 00:49:49,600
to develop a unified theory
of all the phenomena of nature.
858
00:49:49,633 --> 00:49:52,633
On the other hand, it may be
remembered as a tragic failure.
859
00:49:52,666 --> 00:49:55,600
My guess is that it will be
something like the former
860
00:49:55,633 --> 00:49:57,166
rather than the latter.
861
00:49:57,200 --> 00:50:00,933
Uh... but ask me a hundred years
from now, then I can tell you.
862
00:50:08,600 --> 00:50:11,966
GREENE:
Our understanding
of the universe has come
863
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:16,833
an enormously long way
during the last three centuries.
864
00:50:16,866 --> 00:50:20,033
Just consider this.
865
00:50:20,066 --> 00:50:22,833
Isaac Newton, who was perhaps
866
00:50:22,866 --> 00:50:25,600
the greatest scientist
of all time,
867
00:50:25,633 --> 00:50:29,966
once said, "I have been like
a boy playing on the seashore,
868
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:32,533
"diverting myself
in, now and then, finding
869
00:50:32,566 --> 00:50:36,533
"a smoother pebble
or a prettier shell than usual,
870
00:50:36,566 --> 00:50:40,933
while the great ocean of truth
lay before me all undiscovered."
871
00:50:43,833 --> 00:50:46,833
And yet, 250 years later,
872
00:50:46,866 --> 00:50:50,600
Albert Einstein, who was
Newton's true successor,
873
00:50:50,633 --> 00:50:54,633
was able to seriously suggest
that this vast ocean,
874
00:50:54,666 --> 00:50:57,700
all the laws of nature,
might be reduced
875
00:50:57,733 --> 00:50:59,766
to a few fundamental ideas
876
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:03,500
expressed by a handful
of mathematical symbols.
877
00:51:06,900 --> 00:51:10,900
And today, a half-century
after Einstein's death,
878
00:51:10,933 --> 00:51:13,466
we may at last be on the verge
879
00:51:13,500 --> 00:51:18,333
of fulfilling his dream of
unification with string theory.
880
00:51:28,700 --> 00:51:32,900
But where did this daring and
strange new theory come from?
881
00:51:36,833 --> 00:51:39,933
How does string theory achieve
the ultimate unification
882
00:51:39,966 --> 00:51:44,300
of the laws of the large
and the laws of the small?
883
00:51:44,333 --> 00:51:47,900
And how will we know
if it's right or wrong?
884
00:51:47,933 --> 00:51:50,733
GLASHOW:
No experiment can ever check up
what's going on
885
00:51:50,766 --> 00:51:52,966
at the distances
that are being studied.
886
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:55,966
The theory is permanently safe.
887
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:59,133
Is that a theory of physics
or a philosophy?
888
00:51:59,166 --> 00:52:03,400
WEINBERG:
It isn't written in the stars
that we're going to succeed,
889
00:52:03,433 --> 00:52:05,633
but in the end,
we hope we will have
890
00:52:05,666 --> 00:52:08,166
a single theory
that governs everything.
891
00:52:26,500 --> 00:52:29,066
This NOVA program is available
on DVD.
892
00:52:29,100 --> 00:52:31,166
The companion book
is also available.
893
00:52:31,200 --> 00:52:36,766
To order, visit shopPBS.org,
or call 1-800-play-PBS.
894
00:52:43,866 --> 00:52:47,200
Captioned by
Media Access Group at WGBH
access.wgbh.org
72619
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