The Theory of Everything – Physics' Greatest Unfinished Quest

Modern physics rests on two spectacularly successful theories — one for the very large, one for the very small — and they flatly contradict each other. The dream of uniting them into a single “theory of everything” is one of the greatest unsolved problems in science. This episode explains the deep rift at the heart of physics, why it's so hard to heal, and why honest scientists admit we may not be close to an answer.

You'll come away understanding what general relativity and quantum mechanics each describe, why they clash, where that clash actually bites, what ideas like string theory attempt, and why this remains genuinely unfinished business.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: “The Elegant Universe” by Brian Greene; Perimeter Institute – public lectures on quantum gravity; Quanta Magazine – coverage of unification in physics.