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The best way to address the big ultimate questions is likely to be through dialogue with Nature. We must pose pointed sub-questions that give Nature a chance to respond with meaningful answers, in particular with answers that might surprise us.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: The best way to address
Many of my heroes, like Galileo, Maxwell, Newton and, less explicitly, Einstein thought what they were doing was finding out what God is. All of them had this inspiration that if you want to find out what God is, you have to look at his work.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Many of my heroes, like
We can roll up two-dimensional graphene to make one-dimensional tubes, the so-called nanotubes. This can be done in many ways, giving nanotubes with different radii and pitches (see plate FF). Nanotubes that differ only slightly in geometry can have radically different physical properties. It is a triumph of quantum theory that these delicate properties can be predicted unambiguously, purely through calculation, and that they agree with experimental measurements.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: We can roll up two-dimensional
The main point is that quantum reality is REALLY, REALLY BIG. We'll build up a toy model that describes social life among the spins of just five particles, and we'll discover that it fills out a space of thirty-two dimensions.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: The main point is that
QED [quantum electrodynamics] reduces ... "all of chemistry and most of physics," to one basic interaction, the fundamental coupling of a photon to electric charge. The strength of this coupling remains, however, as a pure number, the so-called fine-structure constant, which is a parameter of QED that QED itself is powerless to predict.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: QED [quantum electrodynamics] reduces ...
We know even less about dark energy. It seems to spread out perfectly evenly, with the same density everywhere and everywhen, as if it were an intrinsic property of space-time. Unlike any conventional kind of matter (even supersymmetric particles or axions), the dark energy exerts negative pressure. It tries to pull you apart! Fortunately, although dark energy supplies about 70% of the mass of the universe as a whole, its density is only about 7 X 10 ^-30 times the density of water, and its negative pressure cancels only about 7 X 10 ^-14 of normal atmospheric pressure-less than a part in a trillion. I don't know when we'll have clearer ideas about what the dark energy is. I'd guess not very soon. I hope I'm wrong.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: We know even less about
Thus far our meditation on quantum reality has revealed that the world of everyday matter, when properly understood, embodies concepts of extraordinary beauty. Indeed, ordinary matter is built up from atoms that are, in a rich and precise sense, tiny musical instruments. In their interplay with light, they realize a mathematical Music of the Spheres that surpasses the visions of Pythagoras, Plato, and Kepler. In molecules and ordered materials, those atomic instruments play together as harmonious ensembles and synchronized orchestras.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Thus far our meditation on
Gravitons are the avatars of general covariance.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Gravitons are the avatars of
Knowing how to calculate something is not the same as understanding it. Having a computer to calculate the origin of mass for us may be convincing, but is not satisfying. Fortunately we can understand it too.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Knowing how to calculate something
Energy-momentum tells the metric fluid how to flow.
The metric fluid tells energy-momentum how to flow.
Electric charge tells the electromagnetic fluid how to flow.
The electromagnetic fluid tells electric charge how to flow.
Weak charge tells the weak fluid how to flow.
The weak fluid tells weak charge how to flow.
Strong charge tells the strong fluid how to flow.
The strong fluid tells strong charge how to flow.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Energy-momentum tells the metric fluid
I'm convinced that art and science activate the same parts of the brain.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: I'm convinced that art and
The entity we perceive as empty space is a multilayered, multicolored superconductor. What an amazing, astonishing, beautiful, breathtaking concept. Extraordinary, too.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: The entity we perceive as
Supersymmetry was (and is) a beautiful mathematical idea. The problem with applying supersymmetry is that it is too good for this world. We simply do not find particles of the sort it predicts. We do not, for example, see particles with the same charge and mass as electrons, but a different amount of spin.

However, symmetry principles that might help to unify fundamental physics are hard to come by, so theoretical physicists do not give up on them easily. Based on previous experience with other forms of symmetry, we have developed a fallback strategy, called spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this approach, we postulate that the fundamental equations of physics have the symmetry, but the stable solutions of these equations do not. The classic example of this phenomenon occurs in an ordinary magnet. In the basic equations that describe the physics of a lump of iron, any direction is equivalent to any other, but the lump becomes a magnet with some definite north-seeking pole.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Supersymmetry was (and is) a
Total energy, which is the conserved quantity, is the sum of several terms: kinetic energy, mass energy, potential energy, and field energy. Those different terms refer to aspects of reality that seem, on the face of it, quite different. Much of the power of the concept of energy, in applications, comes precisely from its ability to describe, and relate, several different aspects of reality.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Total energy, which is the
Our clever friend Feynman demonstrated how to write down the Equation of the Universe in a single line. Here it is:

U = 0

U is a definite mathematical function, the total unworldliness. It's the sum of contributions from all the piddling partial laws of physics. To be precise, U = Unewton + Ueinstein +.... Here, for instance, the Newtonian mechanical unworldiness Unewton is defined by Unewton = (F - ma)^2; the Einstein mass-energy Unworldliness is definedby Ueinstein = (E - mc^2) ^2; and so forth. Because every contribution is positive or zero, the only way that the total U can vanish is for every contribution to vanish, so U = 0 implies F=ma, E=mc^2, and any other past or future law you care to include!

Thus we can capture all the laws of physics we know, and accommodate all the laws yet to be discovered, in one unified equation. The Theory of Everything!!! But it's a complete cheat, of course, because there is no way to use (or even define) U, other than to deconstruct it into its separate pieces and then use those.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Our clever friend Feynman demonstrated
An ordinary mistake is one that leads to a dead end, while a profound mistake is one that leads to progress. Anyone can make an ordinary mistake, but it takes a genius to make a profound mistake.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: An ordinary mistake is one
So: What is the world made of? Subject, as ever, to addition and correction, here is the multifaceted answer that modern physics provides:

1) The primary ingredient of physical reality, from which all else is formed, fills space and time.

2) Every fragment, each space-time element, has the same basic properties as every other fragment.

3) The primary ingredient of reality is alive with quantum activity. Quantum activity has special characteristics. It is spontaneous and unpredictable. And to observe quantum activity, you must disturb it.

4) The primary ingredient of reality also contains enduring material components. These make the cosmos a multilayered, multicolored superconductor.

5) The primary ingredient of reality contains a metric field that gives space-time rigidity and causes gravity.

6) The primary ingredient of reality weighs, with a universal density.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: So: What is the world
Ordinary space is a three dimensional continuum, and so is the space of perceived colors.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Ordinary space is a three
So graphene makes an extremely strong, tough material. At the same time, because it is only one atomic layer thick, a graphene sheet is light and flexible. In explaining their 2010 award, the Nobel committee mentioned that a one-square meter graphene hammocck could support a cat, while weighing about as much as one of the cat's whiskers.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: So graphene makes an extremely
When religion talks about our aspirations and our sense of morality, I do not believe that science can contradict it. However, when religion contradicts science on matters of fact, religion must yield.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: When religion talks about our
In physics, you don't have to go around making trouble for yourself - nature does it for you.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: In physics, you don't have
Quantum fields fill all all space, and the quantum electric and magnetic fields obey Maxwell's equations. Nevertheless, when you observe the quantum fields, you find their energy packaged in discrete units: photons.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Quantum fields fill all all
With this, in a powerful sense, our Question has been answered. The world, insofar as we speak of the world of Chemistry, biology, astrophysics, engineering, and everyday life, does embody beautiful ideas. The Core, which governs those domains, is profoundly rooted in concepts of symmetry and geometry, as we have seen. And it works its will, in quantum theory, through music-like rules. Symmetry really does determine structure. A pure and perfect Music of the Spheres really does animate the soul of reality. Plato and Pythagoras: We salute you!
Frank Wilczek Quotes: With this, in a powerful
The world offers many possibilities for different sensory universes, which support very different interpretations of the world's significance. In this way our so-called Universe is already very much a multiverse.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: The world offers many possibilities
The human mind is our ultimate sense organ. Mind has discovered that there are invisible infinities hidden in light. Our perception of color projects the doubly infinite-dimensional space of physical color onto the three-dimensional wall of our inner Cave.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: The human mind is our
If an energetic and powerful Creator made the world, it could be that what moved Him - or Her, or Them, or It - to create was precisely an impulse to make something beautiful.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: If an energetic and powerful
In physics, your solution should convince a reasonable person. In math, you have to convince a person who's trying to make trouble. Ultimately, in physics, you're hoping to convince Nature. And I've found Nature to be pretty reasonable.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: In physics, your solution should
Planck noted that although the Andromedans wouldn't have access to our rulers, scales, or clocks, they would have access to our physical laws, which are the same as theirs. They could measure, in particular, three universal constants:

c: The speed of light.

G: Newton's gravitational constant. In Newton's theory, this is a measure of the strength of gravity. To be precise, in Newton's law of gravity, the gravitational force between the bodies of masses m1, m2 separated by distance r is Gm1m2/r^2.

h: Planck's constant.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Planck noted that although the
Our deepest description of physical reality, in quantum theory and in the four Core Theories of forces (gravitation, electromagnetism, strong and weak forces), bring in concepts that call to mind yin and yang. Niels Bohr, an influential founder of quantum theory, saw strong parallels between his concept of complementarity and the unified duality of yin-yang. He designed a coat of arms for himself, in which the yin-yang figures centrally (see figure 42, page 324). Our Core Theories center on the interplay between lightlike space filling fluids (yang) and substances (yin) they both direct and respond to.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Our deepest description of physical
A quantum atom with two electrons is a much more complicated object to visualize, and I'm not aware that it's ever been done very well. The challenge is that for each possible position of one electron, the wave function of the other is a different three-dimensional object. So really, the natural home of the total wave function, for the two-electron system, is a space of 3 + 3 = 6 dimensions. It is quite a challenge to present such an object in a way that human brains find meaningful.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: A quantum atom with two
It is the more diverse, irregular, superficially haphazard bodies-like the human-that require more detailed assembly instructions. Symmetry emerges as the default structure when information and resources are limited.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: It is the more diverse,
Thus the electromagnetic information entering our eyes at each image point is infinite-dimensional twice over, because for each spectral color there are two possible polarizations, each of which can occur with an independent strength. Human vision overlooks that doubling because human eyes cannot distinguish between different polarizations of light.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Thus the electromagnetic information entering
I went off to college planning to major in math or philosophy
of course, both those ideas are really the same idea.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: I went off to college
The answer to the ancient question 'Why is there something rather than nothing?' would then be that 'nothing' is unstable.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: The answer to the ancient
Mythic Background

Describing his approach to science, Einstein said something that sounds distinctly prescientific, and hearkens back to those ancient Greeks he admired:

What really interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world.

Einstein's suggestion that God-or a world-making Artisan-might not have choices would have scandalized Newton or Maxwell. It fits very well, however, with the Pythagorean search for universal harmony, or with Plato's concept of a changeless Ideal.

If the Artisan had no choice: Why not? What might constrain a world-making Artisan?

One possibility arises if the Artisan is at heart an artist. Then the constraint is desire for beauty. I'd like to (and do) infer that Einstein thought along the line of our Question-Does the world embody beautiful ideas?-and put his faith in the answer "yes!"

Beauty is a vague concept. But so, to begin with, were concepts like "force" and "energy." Through dialogue with Nature, scientists learned to refine the meaning of "force" and "energy," to bring their use into line with important aspects of reality.

So too, by studying the Artisan's handiwork, we evolve refined concepts of "symmetry," and ultimately of "beauty"-concepts that reflect important aspects of reality, while remaining true to the spirit of their use in common language.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Mythic Background<br /><br />Describing his
Transient and Eternal
The state of the world is in flux, and every object within it is subject to change.
Concepts live outside of time and, because All Things Are Number, liberate us from it.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Transient and Eternal<br>The state of
(The cosmological constant is, essentially, the density of empty space. Anticipating a little, let me just mention that a big puzzle in modern physics is why empty space weighs so little even though there's so much to it.)
Frank Wilczek Quotes: (The cosmological constant is, essentially,
The relevant facts can be summarized in a few sentences. (I won't try to do it in one.) All things are made from atoms and photons. Atoms in turn are made from electrons and atomic nuclei. The nuclei are very much smaller than the atoms as a whole (they have roughly one-hundred-thousandth, or 10^-5, the radius), but they contain all the positive electric charge and nearly all the mass of the atom-more than 99.9%. Atoms are held together by electrical attraction between the electrons and the nuclei. Finally, nuclei in turn are made from protons and neutrons. The nuclei are held together by another force, a force that is much more powerful than the electric force but acts only over short distances.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: The relevant facts can be
Two obsessions are the hallmarks of Nature's artistic style:
Symmetry- a love of harmony, balance, and proportion
Economy- satisfaction in producing an abundance of effects from very limited means
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Two obsessions are the hallmarks
Ordinary matter is a secondary manifestation of the Grid, tracing its level of excitation.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Ordinary matter is a secondary
In short: the space of color information is infinite-dimensional, but we perceive, as color, only a three-dimensional surface, onto which those infinite dimensions project.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: In short: the space of
In one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies, Amadeus, Salieri looks with wide-eyed astonishment at a manuscript of Mozart's and says, "Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall."

In this, Salieri captured the essence of perfection. His two sentences define precisely what we mean by perfection in many contexts, including theoretical physics. You might say it's a perfect definition.

A theory begins to be perfect if any change makes it worse. That's Salieri's first sentence, translated from music to physics. And it's right on point. But the real genius comes with Salieri's second sentence. A theory becomes perfectly perfect if it's impossible to change it significantly without ruining it entirely-that is, if changing the theory significantly reduces it to nonsense.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: In one of my favorite
If we know an object has symmetry, we can deduce some of its properties. If we know a set of objects has symmetry, we can infer from our knowledge of one object the existence and properties of others. And if we know that the laws of the world have symmetry, we can infer from one object the existence, properties, and behavior of new objects.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: If we know an object
Matter is not what it appears to be. Its most obvious property-variously called resistance to motion, inertia, or mass- can be understood more deeply in completely different terms. The mass of ordinary matter is the embodied energy of more basic building blocks, themselves lacking mass. Nor is space what it appears to be. What appears to our eyes as empty space is revealed to our minds as a complex medium full of spontaneous activity.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Matter is not what it
If not through divine supervision, how do the atoms of modern chemistry, with their exactly reproducible, stable properties, emerge from equations that, fundamentally, are equations for change?
Frank Wilczek Quotes: If not through divine supervision,
Graphene has unique mechanical and electrical properties, which promise many applications. Inspired by graphene's promise, people have figured out some considerably more efficient ways to make it! One optimistic, but maybe not crazy, study forecasts that a 100 billion market in graphene will develop over the next few years.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Graphene has unique mechanical and
If you don't make mistakes, you're not working on hard enough problems. And that's a mistake.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: If you don't make mistakes,
Yet many creative spirits have found inspiration in the idea that the Creator might be, among other things, an artist whose esthetic motivations we can appreciate and share-or even, in daring speculation, that the Creator is primarily a creative artist. Such spirits have engaged our Question, in varied and evolving forms, across many centuries. Thus inspired, they have produced deep philosophy, great science, compelling literature, and striking imagery. Some have produced works that combine several, or all, of those features. These works are a vein of gold running back through our civilization.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: Yet many creative spirits have
But we can expect the language history of the world to be revealing in another way. A language community is not just a group marked out by its use of a particular language: it is an evolving communion in its own right, whose particular view of the world is informed by a common language tradition. A language brings with it a mass of perceptions, cliches, judgments and inspirations. In some sense, then, when one language replaces another, a people's view of the world must also be changing.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: But we can expect the
In the more advanced, modern parts of physics we learn that light itself is a form of matter, and indeed that matter in general, when understood deeply, is remarkably light-like. So again, our interest in and experience with light, which is deeply rooted in our essential nature, proves fortunate.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: In the more advanced, modern
The brain rewards us for interacting with beautiful things. In this way, evolution wants to encourage us to do what is good for us.
Frank Wilczek Quotes: The brain rewards us for
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