Quotes About Physics

There are 15 main theories in physics, and we know all of them. If there weren't a finite number of theories, there would not be a point to physics.

I gained a first class degree in Physics at Imperial College London in 1968 and did research in solid state physics, but did not pursue meteorology matters until gaining an M.Sc. in astrophysics from Queen Mary College London in 1981, after which I investigated and attempted to construct theories of solar activity.

String theory's biggest prediction is that gravity exists. That's good. That's a lot more than preceding theories could do.

Theorists can create all sorts of theories which go beyond the Standard Model. But there's not one bit of experimental evidence to point out which way you should go.

If you wanted to travel backwards in time, you're out of luck. We have theories on how it might be possible to do so, but they all involve wormholes and black holes and other stuff that would probably kill you. If you want to travel forward in time, you just have to go really fast.

The theory of evolution, like the theory of gravity, is a scientific fact.

According to the kinetic theory of gases, the mean kinetic energy of a molecule is a measure of absolute temperature.

So when you ask me how string theory might be tested, I can tell you what's likely to happen at accelerators or some parts of the theory that are likely to be tested.

The application of group theory to physics became one of the main branches of physics that I specialized in.

The paradigm of physics - with its interplay of data, theory and prediction - is the most powerful in science.

My work on symmetries of string theory is on what is known as strong-weak coupling duality, or S-duality.

Our best theory of describing space at a fundamental level is probably string theory.

The idea of combining the physics of modern particle theory with cosmology was very young when I started working on cosmology.

Einstein's theory of relativity does a fantastic job for explaining big things. Quantum mechanics is fantastic for the other end of the spectrum - for small things.

The problem is that replacement of Quantum Mechanics by Quantum Field Theory is still very demanding.

Since Einstein developed his theory of relativity, and Rutherford and Bohr revolutionised physics, our picture of the world has radically changed.

I learned Einstein's theory of relativity when I was still in school. I simply got interested.

To me, what makes physics physics is that experiment is intimately connected to theory. It's one whole.

What the string theorists do is arguably physics. It deals with the physical world. They're attempting to make a consistent theory that explains the interactions we see among particles and gravity as well. That's certainly physics, but it's a kind of physics that is not yet testable.

One of the most exciting things about dark energy is that it seems to live at the very nexus of two of our most successful theories of physics: quantum mechanics, which explains the physics of the small, and Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, which explains the physics of the large, including gravity.

The basic theory in twistor theory is not to add extra dimensions.

As you say, the way string theory requires all these extra dimensions and this comes from certain consistency requirements about how string should behave and so on.

On the other hand, we don't understand the theory too completely, and because of this fuzziness of spacetime, the very concept of spacetime and spacetime dimensions isn't precisely defined.

One very important aspect of string theory is definitely testable. That was the prediction of supersymmetry, which emerged from string theory in the early '70s.