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The Greatest Unsolved Problem In Theoretical Physics (Synopsis) [Starts With A Bang]
“I just think too many nice things have happened in string theory for it to be all wrong. Humans do not understand it very well, but I just don’t believe there is a big cosmic conspiracy that created this incredible thing that has nothing to do with the real world.” –Ed Witten
If you calculate the forces between two fundamental particles separated by subatomic distances, you find that the strong, electromagnetic or weak nuclear force could all be the strongest, dependent on the particulars of your setup. But throw gravity in there, and it turns out to be weaker by some 40 orders of magnitude.
Image credit: NSF, DOE, LBNL, and the Contemporary Physics Education Project (CPEP).
This discrepancy, that gravity is such an oddball, is known as the hierarchy problem, and is by many measures the greatest unsolved problem in theoretical physics. Yet the new, upgraded run of the LHC has the potential to uncover any one of four possible solutions, some of which we have hints for already.
Image credit: Maximilien Brice (CERN).
Here’s what we know so far, along with our prospects for getting the rest of the way there!
Source: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2015/12/11/the-greatest-unsolved-problem-in-theoretical-physics-synopsis/
