Scientists seeking the secrets of the universe would like to make a model that shows how all of nature's forces and particles fit together. It would be nice to do it with Legos. But perhaps a better ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. String theory captured the hearts and minds of many physicists decades ago because of a beautiful simplicity. Zoom in far enough on a ...

In physics, there are two great pillars of thought that don't quite fit together. The Standard Model of particle physics describes all known fundamental particles and three forces: electromagnetism, ...

In quantum field theory, spontaneous particle formation can occur when the potential energy between two elementary particles increases with their separation, as if they were confined by a string. When ...

Eric Weinstein is a mathematician, economist, former Managing Director of Thiel Capital and a podcaster. Eric give his thoughts on the 2024 presidential election, whether we are being gaslit on a ...

String theory found its origins in an attempt to understand the nascent experiments revealing the strong nuclear force. Eventually another theory, one based on particles called quarks and force ...

For more than a decade, string theorists have been trying to distinguish good models from so-called “swampland” models that are inconsistent with gravity. This sorting effort has led to testable ...

In 1980, Stephen Hawking gave his first lecture as Lucasian Professor at the University of Cambridge. The lecture was called “Is the end in sight for theoretical physics?” Hawking, who later became my ...