The Elegant Universe

Eleven dimension, parallel universes, and a world made out of strings. It's not science fiction. It's String Theory.

Part I



Part II



Part III



Source: PBS

The Standard Model

Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics is the successful theory of the fundamental forces and particles of the Universe and also the theory behind Quantum Field Theory,the main component of the Standard Model, the general theory that unifies 3 of the 4 fundamental forces in a coherent and predictable model of the Universe.

In his website Andrew Thomas gives a full account of the main concepts of Quantum Mechanics in an easy and accessible manner.

Quantum Mechanics: An Introduction

Introducing the peculiar world of the quantum, where a particle is a wave, and a wave is a particle. Considers the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

The Quantum Casino

At its most basic level, nature appears to be fundamentally random. Are we all players in a game of chance at the Quantum Casino?

Quantum Entanglement

Quantum states can become entangled in astonishing ways. Welcome to the strange world of "qubits", faster-than-light communication, and Einstein's first definition of reality.

Quantum Decoherence

At last it would appear a solution has been found to the riddle of the apparent collapse of the wavefunction. Includes an interactive simulation of decoherence in an ensemble of particles.

Quantum Reality

A review of our study of quantum mechanics, the Copenhagen Interpretation, and the first indications of a deeper "veiled" reality.

It's a Small World

Introducing the Standard Model of particle physics, and string theory. But are these theories truly fundamental, or do they rest on a infinite tower of turtles?

The Cosmic Universe

What happened at the start of the universe? Could Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator arm hold the key? Also considers quantum gravity and the "wavefunction of the universe".

The Anthropic Principle

Some of the fundamental physical constants in the universe appear to have been fine-tuned, otherwise life could not exist. Are "multiverse" solutions the answer to this mystery?

The Arrow of Time

All fundamental physical processes appear to be time-reversible - so why don't we see broken eggs mending themselves? And why can't we remember the future?

The Mathematical Universe

The universe appears to have an uncanny connection with the world of mathematics. Why is this? And do mathematical structures have a reality all of their own?

The Big Brother Universe

An examination of the evidence that our universe is the product of an advanced civilisation. Are we living in a computer simulation? Are we all "housemates" in the ultimate reality show?

A New TOE Speaking E8

According to a new proposal by American physicist Gerret Lisi the above equations may be the answer to the ultimate theory in Physics, the unification between quantum field theory and general relativity or Theory of Everything, as is most commonly known.

Here's the abstract from the arxiv.org paper by Gerrett Lisi:

All fields of the standard model and gravity are unified as an E8 principal bundle connection. A non-compact real form of the E8 Lie algebra has G2 and F4 subalgebras which break down to strong su(3), electroweak su(2) x u(1), gravitational so(3,1), the frame-Higgs, and three generations of fermions related by triality. The interactions and dynamics of these 1-form and Grassmann valued parts of an E8 superconnection are described by the curvature and action over a four dimensional base manifold.