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The Future of Physics
Explore why fundamental physics has slowed since 1980, how physicists are crafting liquid light, and why our civilization must pivot to face the Anthropocene.
Lecture guide · Written by AI from the lecture. For the lecture’s own words, open the Transcript tab.
This Santa Fe Institute Community Lecture explores the shift in physics from the slowdown of fundamental laws to exciting advances in designing novel forms of matter like polaritons. John Baez examines how these developments intersect with the challenges of the Anthropocene, arguing that our civilization must transition toward sustainable, ecosystem-aligned approaches.
This lecture assumes
- Cosmological constanttaught in de Sitter Quantum Cosmology: Part 1 at 4:34
Key Takeaways
- Fundamental physics has largely stalled since 1980 with few verified theoretical predictions or experimental breakthroughs.
- Condensed matter physics is currently the most exciting branch of physics, granting exquisite control over matter through quasiparticles like polaritons.
- Quasiparticles such as excitons and polaritons blend light and matter, making it possible to create phenomena like liquid light and superfluids.
- The Anthropocene is characterized by rapid and massive human impacts on the global climate and biosphere, rendering exponential resource growth unsustainable.
Concepts Explained19
Fundamental Physics—Physics based on a set of equations writable on a postcard from which all other calculable physics can in principle be derived.
Special Relativity—Einstein's theory based on the unity of space and time, from which consequences like energy-momentum relations follow.
General Relativity—Einstein's theory of spacetime and gravity, explaining gravity as the bending of spacetime.
Quantum Mechanics—The framework describing how all particles are also waves and vice versa, as captured by Schrödinger's equation.
Examples, Proofs & Derivations
Works & Sources Cited2
Book
Magnificent Rebels, the First Romantics and the Invention of Self—Andrea Wolf, cited as an upcoming speaker at SFI
Paper
Reconstruction of temperature from 73 different records—Marcott et al.