Do you think there really is a Grand Unification Theory, tieing Quantum Physics and Classical Physics into a single whole? Or perhaps there is a point of discontinuity, where there is a definite shift from one set of laws to the next. If I remember correctly, some of the current Big Bang theories allow for the possibility that the laws of the universe might be different in different parts of the universe, could not the Nanoverse be considered a different part of the universe per say?
Just thought this one would be for some nice physics discussions.
>>while contemplating the navel of the universe, I wondered, is it an innie or outie?<<
There are certainly a number of GUTS floating around right now, but none of them complete by any means. Will there ever be a workable, provable correct GUT?
Man, I hope so.
But God, I doubt it.
My personal opinion is yes. My reasoning is that the universe is a single entity so it must ultimately be governed by a single set of physical laws. At the moment we only fully understand certain localized aspects of these laws rather then the actual laws themselves.
But would you consider it a single set of laws if it were discovered that there were ‘points of discontinuity’ where one set of physical rules took over from another? Supposing that at a point of .1nm Newtonian and Quantim physics go to infinity in a manner of speaking, and on one side of the point you have Newtonian rules, and on the other Quantum.
Is that a single set of laws, or something else? And if it were true, what would it signify?
>>while contemplating the navel of the universe, I wondered, is it an innie or outie?<<
It has been said that the Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.
The same thing has been said about the modern Grand Unified Theories. They are neither grand, nor unified, nor even full theories.
GUTs, in modern theoretical physics parlance, don’t actually try to explain everything. They content themselves with unifying 3 out of the 4 Universal Forces – the Strong Nuclear Force, the Weak Nuclear Force, and Electromagnetism – together into one force ruled by a single law. All modern GUTs ignore the force of gravity, since gravity is so much weaker than the other three. It should be noted, by the way, that the Electromagnetic Force and the Weak Nuclear Force have already been successfully unified into a single “Electroweak” force in this way; GUTs are all attempts to bring the Strong Nuclear Force into the game.
The more grandiose attempt to unify all four forces together, and to resolve the contradictions between General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, is sometimes called “The Search for the Theory of Everything.” (A theory that merely smooths out the differences between General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, without trying to reconcile gravity with the other 3 forces, would be called a Theory of Quantum Gravity; the best candidate for a workable Quantum Gravity theory at last count was Superstring Theory.)