The Theory of EverythingAuthor(s): R. B. Laughlin and David PinesReviewed work(s):Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,Vol. 97, No. 1 (Jan. 4, 2000), pp. 28-31Published by: National Academy of SciencesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/121737 .Accessed: 05/07/2012 18:51Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp .JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. .National Academy of Sciences is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.http://www.jstor.org T h e T h e o r y o f Eve r y th ing R. B.Laugh lin* andDavidPine sttf ? *De par tme nto f Ph y sics,Stanf o r dUnive r sity ,Stanf o r d,CA94305;tlnstitute f o r Co mple xAdaptive Matte r , Unive r sity o f Calif o r niaOf f ice o f th e Pr e side nt, Oakland,CA94607;tScie nce andT e ch no lo gy Ce nte r f o r Supe r co nductivity ,Unive r sity o f Illino is, Ur bana, IL61801;and?Lo sAlamo s Ne utr o nScie nce Ce nte rDivisio n,Lo s Alamo s Natio nalLabo r ato r y ,Lo s Alamo s,NM87545 Co ntr ibute dby DavidPine s,No ve mbe r 18,1999 We discuss r e ce ntde ve lo pme nts ino ur unde r standingo f matte r ,br o adly co nstr ue d,andth e ir implicatio ns f o r co nte mpo r ar y r e - se ar ch inf undame ntalph y sics. T h e T h e o r y o f Eve r y th ingis ate r mf o r th e ultimate th e o r y o fth e unive r se -a se to f e quatio ns capable o f de scr ibingall ph e no me nath ath ave be e no bse r ve d,o r th atwille ve r beo bse r ve d(1).Itis th e mo de r nincar natio no f th e r e ductio nist ide alo f th e ancie ntGr e e ks,anappr o ach to th e natur al wo r ldth at h as be e nf abulo usly succe ssf ulinbe tte r ingth e lo to f mankind andco ntinue s inmany pe o ple 's minds to be th e ce ntr alpar adigm o f ph y sics.A spe cialcase o f th is ide a,andalso abe autif ul instance o f it,is th e e quatio no f co nve ntio nalno nr e lativisticquantumme ch anics,wh ich de scr ibe s th e e ve r y day wo r ldo fh umanbe ings-air ,wate r ,r o cks,f ir e ,pe o ple ,andso f o r th .T h ede tails o f th is e quatio nar e le ss impo r tantth anth e f actth atitcan be wr itte ndo wnsimply andis co mple te ly spe cif ie dby ah andf ul o f kno wnquantitie s:th e ch ar ge andmass o f th e e le ctr o n,th ech ar ge s andmasse s o f th e ato mic nucle i,andPlanck's co nstant. Fo r e xpe r ts we wr iteith a 14f> =: W14f> 1 a~t wh e r eweI-h i 2 Nih2Mj 2ma2Maa Ne Ni Z,e 2 Nee 2Nj Z,z3e 2 _E K +2' _[21 a-Raj