Why String Theory is Wrong

PBS Space Time • December 20, 2018

PBS Space Time

About

Space Time explores the outer reaches of space, the craziness of astrophysics, the possibilities of sci-fi, and anything else you can think of beyond Planet Earth with our astrophysicist host: Matthew O’Dowd. For all business inquiries and sponsorship opportunities please reach out to: [email protected] Matt O'Dowd spends his time studying the universe, especially really far-away things like quasars, super-massive black holes, and evolving galaxies. He uses telescopes in space to do it. Matt completed his Ph.D. at NASA's Space Telescope Science Institute, followed by work at the University of Melbourne and Columbia University. He's now a professor at the City University of New York's Lehman College and an Associate at the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium. Previous host Gabe Perez-Giz is an astrophysicist who studies black hole physics. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and also hosted PBS Infinite Series.

Latest Posts

Heisenberg Made a Discovery in 1925. We Still Can't Explain It

PBS Space Time

The Gravity Particle Should Exist. So Where Is It?

PBS Space Time

Why Life on Mars Will DOOM Humanity

PBS Space Time

Can We Create New Elements Beyond the Periodic Table?

PBS Space Time

Video Description

To learn to think like a scientist check out http://Brilliant.org/SpaceTime PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE Check out the new Space Time Merch Store! https://pbsspacetime.com/ Support Space Time on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime There’s this idea that beauty is a powerful guide to truth in the mathematics of physical theory. String theory is certainly beautiful in the eyes of many physicists. Beautiful enough to pursue even if it’s wrong? Tweet at us! @pbsspacetime Facebook: facebook.com/pbsspacetime Email us! pbsspacetime [at] gmail [dot] com Comment on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/pbsspacetime Help translate our videos! https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_... Previous Episode: Quantum Physics in a Mirror Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyTqgnKD3sw&t=5s Hosted by Matt O'Dowd Written by Matt O'Dowd Graphics by Luke Maroldi Assistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike Petrow Made by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com) Hermann Weyl once said, “If I have to choose between beauty and truth, I choose beauty.” It was in reaction to a rebuke by Einstein. Weyl had tried to explain electromagnetism by imposing on Einstein’s general theory of relativity very first gauge symmetry, Weyl invariance. Einstein pointed out it the proposal led to some absurd results, and so the idea went down in flames. It just couldn’t be true, despite the elegance of the math. But sometimes it can be hard to let go of the sense that a beautiful theory must be right. Could this also be the case with string theory? Special thanks to our Patreon Big Bang, Quasar and Hypernova Supporters: Big Bang Supporters David Nicklas CoolAsCats Anton Lifshits Fabrice Eap Justin Lloyd Juan Benet Quasar Tambe Barsbay Mark Rosenthal Dean Fuqua James Flowers Vinnie Falco Hypernova Chuck Zegar Danton Spivey Donal Botkin Edmund Fokschaner John Hofmann Jordan Young Joseph Salomone Mark Heising Matthew O'Connor Thanks to our Patreon Gamma Ray Burst Supporters: Alexey Eromenko Antonio Ruiz Brandon Cook Brandon Labonte Carlo Mogavero Daniel Lyons David Crane Dustan Jones Greg Weiss Jack Frosch James Hughes James Quintero Jinal Doshi JJ Bagnell John Webber Jinal Doshi Jon Folks Joseph Emison Josh Thomas Kenneth F Leonard Kevin Warne Malte Ubl Mark Vasile Nathan Hitchings Nicholas Rose Nick Virtue Ratfeast Richard Broman Scott Gossett Shannan Catalano Shawn Azman Tim Stephani Tommy Mogensen سلطان الخليفي