In some pockets of space, far beyond the limits of our observations, wrote cosmologist Dan Hooper at the University of Chicago in an email to The Daily Galaxy, referring to the theory of eternal inflation and the inflationary multiverse: the laws of physics could be very different from those we find in our local universe. Different forms of matter could exist, which experience different kinds of forces. In this sense, what we call the laws of physics, instead of being a universal fact of nature, could be an environmental fact, which varies from place to place, or from time to time.

I think I know how the universe was born, said Andrei Linde, Russian-American theoretical physicist and the Harald Trap Friis Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Linde is one of the main authors of the inflationary universe theory, as well as the theory of eternal inflation and inflationary multiverse.

According to quantum models, galaxies like the Milky Way grew from faint wrinkles in the fabric of spacetime. The density of matter in these wrinkles was slightly greater compared to surrounding areas and this difference was magnified during inflation, allowing them to attract even more matter. From these dense primordial seeds grew the cosmic structures we see today. Galaxies are children of random quantum fluctuations produced during the first 10-35 seconds after the birth of the universe, said Linde.

As a result, the universe becomes a multiverse, an eternally growing fractal consisting of exponentially many exponentially large parts, Linde wrote. These parts are so large that for all practical purposes they look like separate universes.

Late one summer night in 1981, while still a junior research fellow at Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow, Andrei Linde was struck by a revelation. Unable to contain his excitement, he shook awake his wife, Renata Kallosh, and whispered to her in their native Russian, I think I know how the universe was born.

Kallosh, a theoretical physicist herself, muttered some encouraging words and fell back asleep. It wasnt until the next morning that I realized the full impact of what Andrei had told me, recalled Kallosh, now a professor of physics at the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Lindes nocturnal eureka moment had to do with a problem in cosmology that he and other theorists, including Stephen Hawking, had struggled with.

A year earlier, a 32-year-old postdoc at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory named Alan Guth shocked the physics community by proposing a bold modification to the Big Bang theory. According to Guths idea, which he called inflation, our universe erupted from a vacuum-like state and underwent a brief period of faster-than-light expansion. In less than a billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second, space-time doubled more than 60 times from a subatomic speck to a volume many times larger than the observable universe.

Guth envisioned the powerful repulsive force fueling the universes exponential growth as a field of energy flooding space. As the universe unfurled, this inflation field decayed, and its shed energy was transfigured into a fiery bloom of matter and radiation. This pivot, from nothing to something and timelessness to time, marked the beginning of the Big Bang. It also prompted Guth to famously quip that the inflationary universe was the ultimate free lunch.

As theories go, inflation was a beauty. It explained in one fell swoop why the universe is so large, why it was born hot, and why its structure appears to be so flat and uniform over vast distances. There was just one problem it didnt work.

To conclude the unpacking of space-time, Guth borrowed a trick from quantum mechanics called tunneling to allow his inflation field to randomly and instantly skip from a higher, less stable energy state to a lower one, thus bypassing a barrier that could not be scaled by classical physics.

But closer inspection revealed that quantum tunneling caused the inflation field to decay quickly and unevenly, resulting in a universe that was neither flat nor uniform. Aware of the fatal flaw in his theory, Guth wrote at the end of his paper on inflation: I am publishing this paper in the hope that it will encourage others to find some way to avoid the undesirable features of the inflationary scenario.

Linde Answers Guth

Guths plea was answered by Linde, who on that fateful summer night realized that inflation didnt require quantum tunneling to work. Instead, the inflation field could be modeled as a ball rolling down a hill of potential energy that had a very shallow, nearly flat slope. While the ball rolls lazily downhill, the universe is inflating, and as it nears the bottom, inflation slows further and eventually ends. This provided a graceful exit to the inflationary state that was lacking in Guths model and produced a cosmos like the one we observe. To distinguish it from Guths original model while still paying homage to it, Linde dubbed his model new inflation.

Models of Inflation Theory

By the time Linde and Kallosh moved to Stanford in 1990, experiments had begun to catch up with the theory. Space missions were finding temperature variations in the energetic afterglow of the Big Bang called the cosmic microwave background radiation that confirmed a startling prediction made by the latest inflationary models. These updated models went by various names chaotic inflation, eternal inflation, eternal chaotic inflation and many more but they all shared in common the graceful exit that Linde pioneered.

Quantum Fluctuation Fingerprints

Inflation predicted that these quantum fluctuations would leave imprints on the universes background radiation in the form of hotter and colder regions, and this is precisely what two experiments dubbed COBE and WMAP found. After the COBE and WMAP experiments, inflation started to become part of the standard model of cosmology, Shamit Kachru said.

Pocket Universes New Inflating Regions in the Universe

Linde and others later realized that the same quantum fluctuations that produced galaxies can give rise to new inflating regions in the universe. Even though inflation ended in our local cosmic neighborhood 13.8 billion years ago it can still continue in disconnected regions of space beyond the limits of our observable universe The consequence is an ever-expanding sea of inflating space-time dotted with pocket universes like our own where inflation has ceased.

As a result, the universe becomes a multiverse, an eternally growing fractal consisting of exponentially many exponentially large parts, Linde wrote. These parts are so large that for all practical purposes they look like separate universes.

Linde took the multiverse idea even further by proposing that each pocket universe could have differing properties, a conclusion that some string theorists were also reaching independently.

Its not that the laws of physics are different in each universe, but their realizations, Linde said. An analogy is the relationship between liquid water and ice. Theyre both H2O but realized differently.

Lindes multiverse is like a cosmic funhouse filled with reality-distorting mirrors. Some pocket universes are resplendent with life, while others were stillborn because they were cursed with too few (or too many) dimensions, or with physics incompatible with the formation of stars and galaxies. An infinite number are exact replicas of ours, but infinitely more are only near-replicas. Right now, there could be countless versions of you inhabiting worlds with histories divergent from ours in ways large and small. In an infinitely expanding multiverse, anything that can happen will happen.

The inflationary universe is not just the ultimate free lunch, its the only lunch where all possible dishes are served, Linde said.

While disturbing to some, this eternal aspect of inflation was just what a small group of string theorists were looking for to help explain a surprise discovery that was upending the physics world dark energy.

The Last Word -Brian Keating and Avi Loeb

When asked, will Lindes pocket universes be subject to the same laws of physics as our Universe, Brian Keating, Distinguished Professor of Physics at the Center for Astrophysics & Space Sciences at University of California, San Diego, told The Daily Galaxy: No, not necessarily. Its not mandatory that the properties of space-time be consistent from universe to universe. Nor is it impossible that the laws of logic and mathematics be consistent throughout the universe. This has led some physicists such as Paul Steinhart claiming that the multiverse concept is not a self-consistent or proper subject with the traditions of the scientific method.

Not so certain of the existence of Lindes free lunch, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb told The Daily Galaxy: Advances in scientific knowledge are enabled by experimental tests of theoretical ideas. Physics is a dialogue with nature, not a monologue. I am eagerly waiting for a proposed experimental test of the multiverse idea.

Avi Shporer, Research Scientist, with the MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research via Dan Hooper, Brian Keating, Avi Loeb and Stanford University

The Galaxy Report newsletter brings you twice-weekly news of space and science that has the capacity to provide clues to the mystery of our existence and add a much needed cosmic perspective in our current Anthropocene Epoch.

Yes, sign me up for my free subscription.

Recent Galaxy Reports:

Avi Shporer,Research Scientist, MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research. AGoogle Scholar, Avi was formerly aNASA Sagan Fellowat the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). His motto, not surprisingly, is a quote from Carl Sagan: Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

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Quantum Birth of the Universe (Weekend Feature) - The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel

In photoelectric effect, light waves cannot knock electrons out; and in a photons passing through many slit experiment, a photon cannot pass through many slits at the same time. Namely, the two physical processes, respectively, reflect one aspect of wave-particle duality of quantum particle. On the other hand, in photoelectric effect, photons can knock electrons out; in the many slit experiment, a photon light wave can pass through many slits at the same time. The two physical processes then are complementarily equivalent in wave-particle duality of quantum particle. That is, in wave-particle duality of quantum particle, the first and the second cases use the particle property and the wave property, respectively. Namely, a photon can show as either particle or wave, but cannot be observed as both at the same time for a physics process.

We now generally show them by exact deduction.

In 4-dimensional momentum representation of quantum theory, when considering wave function (phi (vec{p},E)) of momentum representation, one has25

$$ psi (vec{r},t) = frac{1}{{(2pi hbar )^{2} }}int_{ - infty }^{infty } {} phi (vec{p},E)e^{{i(vec{p} cdot vec{r} - tE)/hbar }} dvec{p}dE = frac{1}{{(2pi hbar )^{3/2} }}int_{ - infty }^{infty } {} varphi (vec{p},t)e^{{ivec{p} cdot vec{r}/hbar }} dvec{p} $$

(1)

Equation(1) is a general Fourier transformation of ( , phi (vec{p},E)) (about the plane wave energy E and momentum (vec{p})) from the four-dimensional momentum representation state vector ( , phi (vec{p},E)) to the projection of the plane wave basic vector (e^{{i(vec{p} cdot vec{r} - tE)/hbar }}) and making integration for getting ( , psi (vec{r},t)), which make ( , psi (vec{r},t)) have not only the characteristics of the probabilistic state vector of the particle but also the characteristics of the plane wave, i.e., make ( , psi (vec{r},t)) have the state vector characteristics of wave-particle duality.

Because the momentum representation state vector ( , phi (vec{p},E)) is nonlocal, it also reflects that the system has the global characteristics of momentum (vec{p}) and energy (E), this global property can be the integrity of the particle, e.g., even including different physics qualities, e.g., spin, since the different qualities are not related to space coordinates.

Therefore, the expression (1) exactly shows wave-particle dualitys origin which displays that the wave property is originating from the plane wave part of the general Fourier expansion, and the particle property is originating from the general Fourier expansion coefficients with the particles global property even including different spins.

Therefore, we discover, for arbitrary particle, on an aspect, it propagates with the plane wave of the four-dimensional momentum ((vec{p},E)) as the propagation amplitude of the plane wave; on another aspect, it moves as a particle with the four-dimensional momentum ((vec{p},E)). Especially, when the expanding coefficients have different spins, it moves as a particle with both the four-dimensional momentum ((vec{p},E)) and the different spins, which are the new true physics and the new physical pictures, and uncover the corresponding expressions contributions of both wave part and particle part of wave-particle duality origin. Namely, Eq.(1) is the function of unified expression of wave-particle duality.

A little bit of philosophical insight on what this work means that the unified expression of wave-particle duality is just the superposition state of wave-particle duality, and the superposition state of wave-particle duality is physically real.

Furthermore, the infinite big momenta and energy show their corresponding to infinite big velocity in Eq.(1), and then the infinite big velocity is included, i.e., the wave function (1) of coordinate representation has the contribution of infinite big momentum or speed, namely, the wave function at any spatial and time points has the contributions from negative to positive infinite big momenta or speeds. Similarly, when we do the inverse Fourier transformation of Eq.(1) about whole spacetime coordinates, we find that the wave function of 4-dimentional momentum representation has the contributions of the whole 4-dimentional spacetime, i.e., the wave function at any 4-dimentialal momentum spatial point has the contributions from the whole spacetime. Thus, the above both cases just the reasons that Feynman path integral can be done in whole 4-dimentional spacetime or momentum space.

Using Eq.(1), we have wave function of momentum representation at time t

$$ varphi (vec{p},t) = frac{1}{{(2pi hbar )^{1/2} }}int_{ - infty }^{infty } {} phi (vec{p},E)e^{ - itE/hbar } dE $$

(2)

On the other hand, using Huygens' Principle, one has the basic wave analysis:

Every point of a wave front may be considered the source of secondary wavelets that spread out in all directions with a speed equal to the speed of propagation of the waves. What this means is that when one has a wave, he can view the "edge" of the wave as actually creating a series of circular waves. These waves combine together in most cases to just continue the propagation, and in some cases there are significant observable effects. The wave front can be viewed as the line tangent to all of these circular waves26.

Further using Eq.(1) and Huygens principle above, we have N subwave functions through N slits

$$ psi (vec{r}_{j} ,t) = frac{1}{{(2pi hbar )^{2} }}int_{ - infty }^{infty } {} phi (vec{p},E)e^{{i(vec{p} cdot vec{r}_{j} - tE)/hbar }} dvec{p}dE = frac{1}{{(2pi hbar )^{3/2} }}int_{ - infty }^{infty } {} varphi (vec{p},t)e^{{ivec{p} cdot vec{r}_{j} /hbar }} dvec{p} $$

(3)

where j=1,2,,N. No losing generality and for simplicity, taking N=2 just shows the up slit and down slit, respectively, in Young's Double Slits in Fig.2.

Interference of a particle plane wave in Young's double slit experiment.

Therefore, Eqs.(1)(3) can also be seen as a kind of expressions of Huygens principle. Consequently, these Fourier expansions physically imply new physics, and are not only just the mathematical tools.

The superposition density function of two subwaves is just Eq.(5) in Section Solutions to Wheelers delayed choice puzzle and puzzle of a particles passing double slits simultaneously by the physics processes of the exact quantum physics expressions, the interference terms of the two subwaves in Fig.2 are just the third term and fourth term in Eq.(5).

These properties are exactly conforming to the plane wave properties of the single particle, thus a particle plane wave can simultaneously pass through N slits, for simplicity, Young's Double Slits in Fig.2, Eq.(3) just generally give the both subwave functions that simultaneously pass through N slits, for simplicity, two slits s1 and s2 in Young's Double Slits, respectively.

The N subwave functions have the same amplitude (phi (vec{p},E)) for some certain (vec{p},E), (e^{{i(vec{p} cdot vec{r}_{j} - tE)/hbar }}) (j=1, 2,, N) are just N plane subwave functions in Eq.(3), and the N probabilistic wave functions in Eq.(3) integrate for ((vec{p},E)) from negative infinite to positive infinite, i.e., having considered all possibility, which make the N expressions (3) exact.

The global property of a particle does not allow the single particle to simultaneously pass through N slits, for simplicity, Young's double slits, in reality, the interference of a particle wave is observed, which just show a particle wave simultaneously does pass the N slits, for simplicity, the double slits, but all theories up to now cannot solve the hard puzzle of a particles passing the N slits, e.g., Youngs double slits simultaneously.

Originally posted here:

New quantum physics, solving puzzles of Wheeler's delayed choice and a particle's passing N slits simultaneously and quantum oscillator in experiments...

Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scotty Scott, Chief Engineer and third in command of the starship Enterprise had his dilithium crystals: Quantum computers could soon have time crystals. It all sounds very Doctor Who, but time crystals were theoretically predicted 10 years ago, and ongoing research now shows they can be engineered to interconnect, not only to help build quantum computers but also provide greatly improved and highly stable memory storage for the devices.

Mind you, as of today, theyd be difficult to manage because any connections would have to take place in a superfluid of helium-3 maintained at a temperate of one-ten-thousandth of a degree above absolute zero, which itself is minus 273 degrees Celsius, so your average fridge wont be of much use. At such a low temperature there is no viscosity, no friction and no heat is produced, and thus perpetual motion becomes a possibility. Superfluidity can occur in helium-3 when individual atoms pair up to make bosonic complexes called Cooper pairs: Youll have to take my word for that, or read it up yourselves.

In normal crystals salt, sugar or snowflakes, for example atoms are arranged periodically in a lattice formation. These atoms move in three dimensions within that framework (up and down, left and right, backwards and forwards on an X, Y, Z axis), oscillating until, when at ground state (when all electrons are at the lowest possible energy levels), they stop moving. The structures of atoms in time crystals are very different because they oscillate in time as well in space in other words, in a fourth dimension.And, heres the astonishing bit, they do exhibit perpetual motion, jiggling around forever without the need for any energy input or losing any energy at any time.

By doing this, time crystals might appear to break the Second Law of Thermodynamics by negating entropy, which can be described as a measure of randomness, uncertainty, unpredictability and decline into disorder. Or, as Paul Simon sings (on his under-rated and under-played track), everything put together sooner or later falls apart. Entropy is also a measure of the number of possible arrangements the atoms in a system can have. However, time crystals existing in space time cannot create infinite energy as, in fact, they do obey the Second Law of Thermodynamics, because the energy is conserved within a closed system.

That negation of entropy in a closed system is down to a principle of quantum mechanics called many-object localisation. Here, when a force is exerted on one atom, that force is felt by that single atom alone and not by any others, i.e. the change is localised rather than systemwide. Thus, the system does not experience entropy and so become unpredictable and liable to breakdown, but instead continues to oscillate, presumably for ever (as no one ever looks at what is going on). If that happens, the state changes according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which says that when a quantum system is observed and measured, its quantum wave function disappears. Thus, time crystals can work properly only when completely separate to, and isolated from, their surroundings, and then we are back to the closed system again.

A research fellow and physics lecturer at Lancaster University, Samuli Autti, has been working with scientists at Aalto University in Finland (where he completed his PhD) and created two time crystals that paired and interacted with one another. The pairing existed for 1,000 seconds, a period that equated to many billions of periods of oscillation before the wave function decayed and slowed. The research programme continues, and pairing times are expected be extended.

The experiment showed that the paired time crystals (and their interaction) may well turn out to be the basic foundation upon which to build a fully-functioning quantum computer. Thats because a mass of paired time crystals could be made to operate as qubits quantum bits that can represent a 1 and 0 and on and off simultaneously, to provide massive and very fast computing processing speed. Meanwhile, the search is on to develop time crystals that will work at room temperature, a breakthrough that would make it far easier to construct and run quantum computers.

Even though the experiments may sound like something from science fiction, they are science fact, and Scotty has been proved right in his oft-repeated assertion that Ye cannae break the laws of physics, Captain. And, indeed, you cant, but it may be possible to bend them a bit from time to time.

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Want the best quantum computers? Then youll need time crystals... - TelecomTV

The multiverse. It's one of the biggest words in blockbuster franchises right now. The scientific theory of alternate realities existing adjacent to our own is nothing new: Both Marvel and (more prominently) DC have always made multiverse theory a key part of their respective comic book universes, and it was inevitable that both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DCEU would have to introduce the terms to the mainstream masses. However, fans know that years before Marvel and DC multiverses started being discussed in pop culture, Rick and Morty was diving down a deep rabbit hole of quantum physics and multiverse theory.

Rick and Morty Season 6 is set to premiere on Adult Swim this fall, and the ComicBook Nation podcast had a chance to speak with creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland during the show's press day. Roiland and Harmon addressed how great it is seeing Marvel and DC TV and movies making multiverse mainstream, while also reflecting on how challenging that storytelling is but also why it's the ultimate narrative "cheat code."

"Rick and Morty, the challenge is if this dude [Rick] can just do that, why doesn't he just leave right now?" Dan Harmon explained. "And the nice answer is usually like, 'Well, let's not avoid that. Let's not try to solve that problem. What would happen if he did leave?'"

"And so sometimes we do that, like... 'let's have him leave," Harmon continued. "Let's have him go home. He, he doesn't wanna be here if he can, let's just have him go home or to a different timeline and reach that.' You know, we had that conversation as early as in season 1... that was a big Rick and Mortybirth moment for us was going, 'Let's not be afraid of jumping this shark. Let's have him move to a new earth in episode two or something."

Rick and Morty definitely puts forth the challenge of having its creators imagine an entire multiverse worth of lore, as Harmon says. But as Justin Roiland sees it, the challenge is often also the solution:

"I guess that's the big cheat code, right? When you have, when you have multiverses... that's something that we've leaned into on this show, you know. Where we were able to have characters... like... the Kronenberg version of Jerry. It's like, he's just a different person. He's not the same at all. And it's sort of fun that we got to do that and still go back to what the show is, you know? Not like the standard, you know, show, but that's still a thing we got to do. And that's all multiverses, like the safety net underneath those cheat codes."

What Roiland enjoys the most, however, is the fact that even the wildest ideas that Rick and Morty dips into with its multiversal stories aren't necessarily complete fiction. Science could one day prove them to be fact:

"It's the best because not only is it a cheat code, but it's also this cool sci-fi... Awesome thing that is, that might even be f*cking real," Roiland said. "We don't even know. It might be real, right? It could very well be. I mean, we literally don't know. I mean, quantum physics and just all the crazy sh*t, we don't know what the f*ck is going on. I mean, who knows man? And we might find out that by doing some sort of weird thing, you actually can transition into another reality. And then people are a little different around you and you're like, what the f*ck just happened? And then there's the Mandela effect. You're like, well, wait a minute. No, that wasn't that way. That was a different way. You don't know what's going on. Yeah... There's a lot of weird sh*t."

Rick and Morty Season 6 will have a special episode called "Wormageddon"ahead of its premiere.

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Rick and Morty Creators on the Challenges and 'Cheat Code' of Multiverse Storytelling - ComicBook.com

Some of the world's brightest minds are gathering in Vancouver this week to try to solve a question that has baffled physicists for decades.

The two pillars of modern physics the theories of quantum mechanics and general relativity have been used respectively to describe how matter behaves, as well as space, time and gravity.

The problem is that the theories don't appear to be compatible, said Peter Galison, a professor in history of science and physics at Harvard University.

"These theories can't just harmoniously live in splendid isolation, one from the other. We know our account of the world is inadequate until we figure out how to make them play nicely together," he said in an interview after giving a talk on how black holes fit into the equation.

Galison is among several leading thinkers who arrived at the Quantum Gravity Conference, held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel,for the launch of a new global research collaborative known as the Quantum Gravity Institute in Vancouver.

While speakers at the conference are primarily scientists, including Nobel laureates Jim Peebles, Sir Roger Penrose and Kip Thorne, those behind the institute come from less likely fields.

The Quantum Gravity Society represents a group of business, technology and community leaders. Founding members include Frank Giustra of Fiore Group, Terry Hui of Concord Pacific, Paul Lee and Moe Kermani of Vanedge Capital and Markus Frind of Frind Estate Winery.

They are joined by physicists Penrose, Abhay Ashtekar, Philip Stamp, Bill Unruh and Birgitta Whaley.

The Early Edition8:46How scientists are getting closer to understanding quantum gravity, which could lead to life-altering new technologies

Lee,managing partner of Vanedge Capital and chair of the Quantum Gravity Institute, said during a panel discussion that he's been asked several times why Vancouver would host such an event or institute.

"Why Vancouver? Because we can," Lee said.

He told The Early Editionhost Stephen Quinnthat the potential of the work being done at the conference is limitless.

"I just look at what has happened over the last hundred years from quantum [mechanics] alone," Lee said.

"Who would imagine 100 years ago ... that suddenly, we would have these massive computing systems and the ability to do artificial intelligence? ... Or, you know, suddenly with medical imaging, we would be extending life spans of the average human by a quarter to a third.

"If we imagine even continued advances along those lines, you know, can we start solving aging?"

Lee said lofty ideas like time travel, interstellar space traversal and clean energy solutions were all on the table if a unified quantum gravity theory could be produced.

Hui, president and CEO of Concord Pacific, who studied physics as part of his undergraduate degree, said organizing the conference and launching the institute felt like fulfilling a childhood dream.

"I left the field to pursue other things, you know," he said in an interview.

He said it was like never making the high school hockey team and now getting to hang out in the Canucks' locker room.

Hui said he saw his role as philanthropic, adding he believed it would benefit Vancouver economically.

For Galison, he said as a non-local and the founder of the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard, he's happy to see more interdisciplinary support for exploring some of the biggest questions in science.

He called the conference an interesting event for bringing together people in technology and venture capitalism with scientists from varied fields, addingthat the launch of the institutewasmeaningful.

"It's also a kick-off event for something much bigger and longer-lasting."

Lee said he hopes the conference and institute leads to more Canadian PhDs and scientists gaining valuable work and insight from the distinguished.

As for the conference, Galison said it's an opportunity to explore where the theories overlap from different angles.

"One place they intersect is clearly at the beginning of the universe, early cosmology, because when energy is incredibly compressed, when you have enormous energy densities, you're at the limit where the bending of space and time creates so much energy that quantum effects come into play," he said.

The theory of quantum mechanics, introduced in the 1920s, entered a world already shaken by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, which inspired responses not just from scientists but from poets and philosophers, he said.

"That these things are not compatible is really unnerving," Galison said.

Cracking the code for why isn't something that will happen in a moment, a week or a year, he added.

"There's a tremendous amount of work," he said. "It's more like building a cathedral than throwing up a bicycle shed."

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Vancouver hosts conference that will see physicists try to crack the theory of everything - CBC.ca