Professor Lisa: An Unambiguous Gift
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“>Jefferson Starship where Professor Lisa builds her models*.
“Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions.”
What? Twice I told you! But did you go?
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
8:00 PM Science Center D
What? Twice I told you! But did you go?
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
8:00 PM Science Center D
I promised you a review of her new book, “Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions.” I wanted to convince you to go to her talk, but I forgot how slowly I read. But I can recommend the talk based on other talks I’ve heard.
Recently I went to her talk at MIT. I was on time to Building 6. It was boarded up with a big “Hard Hat Area” sign. Her old office where [in part] she built her warped model* is now under construction and covered with gypsum dust. Anyway, I found the retail space where CTP now lives, for the time being. She spoke on ‘Relaxing to Three Dimensions”. She was proposing yet another way to understand why the space around us appears to have three dimensions while progress in theoretical physics suggest there are more than that. This is a recent trend. Physics call such trends “cottage industries”. Professor Lisa did not start this trend, but she certainly catapaulted it into high gear.
For Newton, space was the vast immutable stage on which all the action unfolded. Time was the vehicle of change. Einstein’s special insight was that space and time are aspects of one bigger thing. His general insight was that that thing is itself flexibility and changeable. That flexibility IS gravity – at least if you don’t have a really big [virtural] magnifying glass. Kaluza and Klein almost realized part of Einstein’s dream by showing that one extra dimenion could give gravity and electromagnetism. But the extra dimension had to be curved [which Einstein would certainly allow] up into a teeny tiny circle, too small to see [otherwise wouldn’t we have seen it?] But the extra dimensional circle was fixed which Einstein would not allow.
You’ve all heard that String Theory only makes sense in 10 dimensions. I think the folks could do better explaining this point. [I’m hoping Professor Lisa has something new on this.] Anyway, you’ve also heard that the Uncertainly Principle prohibits a point particle from standing absolutely still. It must have zero-point motion. Fields have zero-point motion associated with each and every of their infinite wiggles. That can lead to really big [if not infinite energies]. That’s not a good thing.
Zero-point energies can be tamed by pitting them against each other. Supersymmetry [SUSY], the idea that every particle that constitutes ‘matter’ has a partner that carries ‘force’ [and conversely], does that, which is one reason why folks like Professor Lisa like it so much. That’s not the whole story though. Strings whose vibrations can only make force particles [bosonic strings] live in 26 dimensions. SUSY allows strings to live in 10. [This is why “The Fisrt Three Minutes” appeared to be confused.] I need the brilliant young Professor Lumidek to help me figure out how to describe the cancellation that allows bosonic strings to live in 26.
If the idea of extra dimensions make sense, why don’t we see them? Before Professor Lisa and Professor Raman did the warp, everybody borrowed the idea that Kaluza and Klein had used. The extra dimensions are curled up too small to see. Professors Lisa and Raman showed that there is an alternative. Stephen Hawking thought it was a good idea. When he spoke in Sanders Theatre, he put their paper up on the jumbotron.
The talk was everything I thought it would be. There is one thing I can tell you about the book from the bit that I have read. She has a very pleasant writing voice – a gentle authority, comforting. She has/is an unambiguous gift.
Recently I went to her talk at MIT. I was on time to Building 6. It was boarded up with a big “Hard Hat Area” sign. Her old office where [in part] she built her warped model* is now under construction and covered with gypsum dust. Anyway, I found the retail space where CTP now lives, for the time being. She spoke on ‘Relaxing to Three Dimensions”. She was proposing yet another way to understand why the space around us appears to have three dimensions while progress in theoretical physics suggest there are more than that. This is a recent trend. Physics call such trends “cottage industries”. Professor Lisa did not start this trend, but she certainly catapaulted it into high gear.
For Newton, space was the vast immutable stage on which all the action unfolded. Time was the vehicle of change. Einstein’s special insight was that space and time are aspects of one bigger thing. His general insight was that that thing is itself flexibility and changeable. That flexibility IS gravity – at least if you don’t have a really big [virtural] magnifying glass. Kaluza and Klein almost realized part of Einstein’s dream by showing that one extra dimenion could give gravity and electromagnetism. But the extra dimension had to be curved [which Einstein would certainly allow] up into a teeny tiny circle, too small to see [otherwise wouldn’t we have seen it?] But the extra dimensional circle was fixed which Einstein would not allow.
You’ve all heard that String Theory only makes sense in 10 dimensions. I think the folks could do better explaining this point. [I’m hoping Professor Lisa has something new on this.] Anyway, you’ve also heard that the Uncertainly Principle prohibits a point particle from standing absolutely still. It must have zero-point motion. Fields have zero-point motion associated with each and every of their infinite wiggles. That can lead to really big [if not infinite energies]. That’s not a good thing.
Zero-point energies can be tamed by pitting them against each other. Supersymmetry [SUSY], the idea that every particle that constitutes ‘matter’ has a partner that carries ‘force’ [and conversely], does that, which is one reason why folks like Professor Lisa like it so much. That’s not the whole story though. Strings whose vibrations can only make force particles [bosonic strings] live in 26 dimensions. SUSY allows strings to live in 10. [This is why “The Fisrt Three Minutes” appeared to be confused.] I need the brilliant young Professor Lumidek to help me figure out how to describe the cancellation that allows bosonic strings to live in 26.
If the idea of extra dimensions make sense, why don’t we see them? Before Professor Lisa and Professor Raman did the warp, everybody borrowed the idea that Kaluza and Klein had used. The extra dimensions are curled up too small to see. Professors Lisa and Raman showed that there is an alternative. Stephen Hawking thought it was a good idea. When he spoke in Sanders Theatre, he put their paper up on the jumbotron.
The talk was everything I thought it would be. There is one thing I can tell you about the book from the bit that I have read. She has a very pleasant writing voice – a gentle authority, comforting. She has/is an unambiguous gift.
