Changes to the Standard Model of physics could point to a ‘God Equation’

Q: What first sparked your interest in the idea of a ‘God Theory’? Why that name over Universal Theory?

I first got interested in the God Equation when I was 8 years old. All the newspapers said that a great scientist had just died. They published a picture of his desk, with an unfinished book. The caption said that the greatest scientist of our time could not finish that book.

I was fascinated by this. What could be so hard this great man could not finish it? I told myself that I would try to finish that book.

Later, I found out that the scientists name was Albert Einstein, and he was searching for an equation, perhaps no more than one inch long, which would allow him to “read the Mind of God,” to be able to unify all the laws of nature into a single theory. 

He wanted to explain all the fundamental laws which made possible atoms, molecules, planets, stars, and the universe itself.

I was hooked. I had to learn everything I could about this unfinished theory. At that point, I knew I wanted to become a theoretical physicist.

Q: If you had to explain the concept to an eight year old with no attention span, how would you do it?

Even school children have heard the equation E = mc squared. It is an equation, one inch long, that unifies energy and matter. 

The God Equation, on the other hand, is more powerful, it unifies all the forces of nature into a single equation. It will unify the four fundamental forces (gravity, light and the electromagnetic force, and the two nuclear forces) into a single theory.

This theory must explain the rich diversity of matter that we see all around us. So far, the only paradigm which can do this music, and the only theory which seems to work is called string theory.

String theory says everything is made of tiny, vibrating strings, too small to be seen by a microscope. Each vibration of this string corresponds to a different sub-atomic particle.

So each “note’ on this string is a particle. Physics, in turn, is the laws of harmony that describe these vibrations. Chemistry is the melodies we can play on these strings, which can bump into each other. The universe is a symphony of strings.

And the mind of God, that Einstein struggled with for so long, is comic music resonating through hyperspace.

Q: Is it even possible for a single theory to define everything? Could it be a never ending thankless search?

We already have a theory of almost everything, so many physicists believe there must be a Final Theory.

All of biology can be explained using chemistry. All of chemistry can be explained using physics.

All of physics can be explained by relativity (e.g. black holes, and big bangs) and the quantum theory (e.g. sub-atomic particles).

It is truly remarkable that all of physics can be described, at the fundamental level, by 2 sets of equations that can fit on just one page. This is a remarkable fact, that the universe is simpler than we originally thought, that the fundamental forces of nature can be unified.

We already have the “theory of almost everything,” so many physicists have faith that there is a Final Theory from which all other theories can be derived.

The next goal is to unify the last two great theories, relativity with the quantum theory, to create a true theory of everything. 

That would be the crowning achievement of 2,000 years of our investigation into this universe of ours. 

So far, the greatest minds of humanity have tried to unify the forces of the universe into a single theory, and have failed. So far, the only theory which works, on paper, is string theory.

That doesn’t mean that the theory is correct, or that there could be an everlasting search of ever-tinier particles. 

But it means that string theory is the only game in town, the only theory which has survived many decades challenges.

Q: As you say in the conclusion – are we really as flatlanders, just waiting for proof of a suspected extra dimension?

There are 4 forces governing the universe: gravity, electromagnetism (e.g. light), and the two nuclear forces.

In 3 ordinary dimensions, they cannot be folded into a single theory.

In 3 dimensions, there is “not enough room” to fit all the theories together into a single theory.

But if we have higher dimensions beyond 3, perhaps up to 11 dimensions, then all the four forces collapse into one Super Force. 

These dimensions cannot be seen or felt by us, since we evolved in a 3 dimensional universe without the ability to visualize higher dimensions. But in 11 dimensions, all the forces fold up into one force.

Q: A recent CERN anomaly hints that the standard model may be wrong – what impact does that have on the ‘God Theory’?

For the past 50 years, the Standard Model has successfully described the behavior of sub-atomic particles.

It is the Theory of Almost Everything. (It omits all mention of gravity, however).

It truly describes the known sub-atomic world. The problem, however, is it is one of the ugliest theories in physics.

It has 36 quarks and anti-quarks, 20 free parameters, a large number of gauge particles, neutrinos, and Higgs bosons. 

It is a theory only a mother can love. But how can Nature, at the most fundamental level, create such an ugly theory. Even its creators admit it cannot be the Final Theory. Its problem is that has been too successful.

So physicists are looking for the tiniest deviation in the Standard Model, which might give us a clue to the real fundamental theory.

Recently, at CERN, a small but crucial anomaly was discovered. Is this a signal of the Final Theory? Many physicists hope so.

Einstein once said that if you see a lion’s tail, perhaps there might be a lion attached to it. Any tiny deviation from the Standard Model would be a tail pointing to the true theory.

Q: What is the most important evidence pointing to the existence of a unified theory?

So far, string theory is the only candidate for a theory of everything that has withstood all theoretical objections. All other models have failed. But there is no experimental proof the theory is right.

But one clue is to look for Dark Matter, this mysterious invisible substance that holds the Milky Way galaxy together. 

Without Dark Matter, the galaxies would all fly apart. Most of the matter in the universe is made of Dark Matter, not atoms. 

One day, we will find Dark Matter experimentally, either as sub-atomic particles decaying in our detectors, or as cosmic rays from space, or as particles produced by powerful accelerators.’

The discovery of Dark Matter

Q: How ground breaking would it be? On a level of energy being a property of matter, relativity or gravitational waves?

Finding the God Equation would be the greatest event in the 2,000 year history of science. It would have enormous ramifications concerning our understanding of the universe. It will answer questions like:

  • what happened before the big bang?
  • what lies on the other side of a black hole?
  • is time travel possible?
  • are there other dimensions?
  • are there parallel universes in a multiverse of universes?
  • are there wormholes, or gateways to other universes?
  • can we travel faster than light

The universe is like a chess game. After 2,000 years, we have figured out how the pawns and knights move.

If we find the God Equation, we will know all the rules of chess and eventually become Grand Masters.

So I think, in some sense, the ultimate destiny of humanity is tied to finding the God Equation.

Q: Do you think we will find it within the lifetime of people alive today?

Any day, physicists may announce that Dark Matter has been detected in the laboratory.

Any day, someone might announce that anomaly has been found in the Standard Model, pointing to the God Equation.

Any day, some physicist may claim to solve string theory, and hence derive the universe we live in from first principles.

All these might point to correctness of the God Equation, and they could happen any day.

And some day in the near future, our gravity wave detectors will be sent into outer space, and detect radiation from the instant of the big bang. 

This will give us baby pictures of the infant universe emerging from the womb, and perhaps evidence of an umbilical cord connecting our infant universe to a parallel universe, as predicted by string theory.