The Life Scientific returns with a special episode from the USA; Princeton, New Jersey, to be precise. Here, the Institute for Advanced Study has hosted some of the greatest scientific minds of our time - Einstein was one of its first Professors, J. Robert Oppenheimer its longest-serving director - and today's guest counts among them. Edward Witten is Professor Emeritus at the Institute and the physicist behind M-Theory, a leading contender for what is commonly referred to as ‘the theory of everything’, uniting quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of gravity. He talks to Jim Al-Khalili about a career that’s spanned some of the most exciting periods in modern theoretical physics - and about one particular problem that's both obsessed and eluded him since his days as a student… Produced by Lucy Taylor.
BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts hello and welcome to the podcast edition of the Life Scientific.
I'm Jamal Khalili and this is the show where I get to talk with some of the world's leading scientists and you get to find out what drives them.
So sit back, get comfortable, and enjoy the episode.
Hello.
Today I'm in the USA in Princeton, New Jersey, to be precise, a place that's hosted some of the greatest scientific minds of our time.
My guest is one of them, the physicist behind M theory, a leading contender for what is commonly referred to as the Theory of Everything, one that combines the two current mathematical descriptions of the physical universe, quantum mechanics, and Einstein's theory of gravity.
Edward Witten is Professor Emeritus in the School of Natural Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study, just down the road from here.
Einstein was one of its first professors and J.
Robert Oppenheimer its longest serving director.
Over a career that spans some of the most exciting periods in modern theoretical physics, Edward Witton has become known as the originator of many significant ideas and breakthroughs in our current understanding of the nature of reality itself.
So hold onto your hats, people.
But even he has his challenges.
A fascination since his student days has been the problem of quark confinement, a subject that still eludes our full understanding even today.
Don't worry, we will come to that.
In the meantime, his attitude to finding fresh answers remains resolutely pragmatic.
He says the hardest part of research is always to find a question that's big enough that it's worth answering, but little enough that you actually can answer it.
Edward Whitten, welcome to the Life Scientific.
Thank you so much for the invitation today.
Now, you say little enough to be able to answer, but I mentioned quark confinement in the introduction there and how it's something of a white whale for you personally.
We'll talk about it, but do you want to just lay out very simply what that problem is?