The Observer - Harvard physicist gives talk on string ... - Lisa Randall

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Observer</strong> - <strong>Harvard</strong> <strong>physicist</strong> <strong>gives</strong> <strong>talk</strong> on string theoryCurrent IssueArchivesAdvertisingAbout UsContactStaffSubscribeRSS Feed<strong>The</strong> student newspaper of Case Western Reserve University.●●●●●●●●●●●●Lead StoriesSpartans knockBrandeis out of tie withEmory for UAA top spotStart of spring a busytime for sportsrecruiting at CaseTop ColumnsSuDoKu Answers<strong>The</strong> BuzzJumble AnswersCrossword AnswersCleveland on Fire:Cleveland can benefitfrom publicinvestments, ideas fromAmsterdamSpartan Spotlight:Karyn RafalkeEditorial: Maximizetime at Case, don't missyour college experienceA Fresh Perspective:Post spring breakmindset in students'handsWorst Case Scenario:PranksFree Speech Zone:Sacrifices needed to end<strong>The</strong> <strong>Observer</strong>, March 23, 2007Volume XXXIX, Issue 21<strong>Harvard</strong> <strong>physicist</strong> <strong>gives</strong> <strong>talk</strong> on string theoryAlison Dietz, News EditorOn Tuesday, Case welcomed<strong>physicist</strong> Lisa Randall to anearly-full Severance Hall asthe third speaker in theuniversity's DistinguishedLecture Series.click to enlarge Randall, currently a professorof theoretical physics at<strong>Harvard</strong>, recently published a book titled WarpedPassages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe'sHidden Dimensions that details her ideas on stringtheory in a way accessible to the public.This accessibility drew some students to the lecture."I heard that Lisa Randall was good at presenting thetopic in an understandable way. It's something that Iread and then become thoroughly confused by," saidsophomore Ethan Engle.Others were more interested in the fact that Randallwas the first tenured woman in the Princeton physicsdepartment and the first tenured female theoretical<strong>physicist</strong> at MIT and <strong>Harvard</strong>."I'm interested in the topic and observing anotherfemale in the physics realm," said sophomoreMarinda Mitchell. "I want to see how she carriesherself and interacts with others."Randall was introduced by Case professor LawrenceKrauss, who described her as "one of the most activeyoung particle <strong>physicist</strong>s in the world."<strong>The</strong> lecture began with an overview of her ideasabout string theory and the existence of extradimensions. Randall, a particle <strong>physicist</strong>, also usescosmology in her study."<strong>The</strong>re's an interplay between the fields," saidRandall.http://observer.case.edu/Archives/Volume_39/Issue_21/Story_1553/ (1 of 3)5/19/2008 4:16:01 PM

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Observer</strong> - <strong>Harvard</strong> <strong>physicist</strong> <strong>gives</strong> <strong>talk</strong> on string theory●●Middle East conflictSex & Dating: SpringBreak QuizOne Foot Out the Door:Symptoms of senioritiskicking inLast Issue● Epic visually lush 300first worthwhile film of2007●●Erb, Hrinda, andHannen bring homevictoriesSagartz sisters to sharesoftball diamond onelast time next week<strong>The</strong> current particle physics view is that the universeis made up of fundamental particles which are unableto be broken down into smaller parts."It's funny that the name for atoms comes from thefact that they are supposed to be indivisible andunchanging," said Randall. "But we detected thembecause they change and divide."<strong>The</strong> current candidate for the most fundamentalparticle is the quark, which makes up protons andneutrons. However, Randall asserts that the standardmodel is incomplete, and that string theory canaccount for the discrepancies.One problem that Randall noted is the difficulty inreconciling general relativity, used in large-scaleproblems, and quantum theory, used on muchsmaller scales. One method of reconciliation is stringtheory, which states that fundamental particles aresimply one-dimensional strings. <strong>The</strong>se strings vibratein different ways that mark them as the neutrons,protons, and other particles that we see.Randall also promoted the idea of multipledimensions as a way to address problems that havebaffled <strong>physicist</strong>s for years and to deduceconnections that might otherwise be missed. Shenoted that string theory only makes sense if thereare extra dimensions to work with. She remainedpragmatic, however."Even if there are no extra dimensions, thinkingoutside of our framework raises other questions,"said Randall.She then discussed how extra dimensions wouldwork in geometry, starting with a zero-dimensionalpoint and working up to a four-dimensionalhypercube. She also mentioned the difficulty inrendering a hypercube in three or even twodimensions."Just because extra dimensions are hard to picturedoesn't mean they don't exist," said Randall.As an example, she brought up the book Flatland byEdwin A. Abbott, wherein a two-dimensional squareencounters a three-dimensional sphere. <strong>The</strong> onlyway for the square to experience the sphere is as aseries of expanding and shrinking circles. Similarly, ahypercube could only be experienced by threedimensionalhumans as a series of expanding andshrinking cubes.Randall contended that the best way to describe suchobjects is with words. "With this, a word is worth1000 pictures."If all these extra dimensions exist, why can't they beseen? Several theories abound, including the ideathat the extra dimensions are rolled up to a tiny size."People think, if something's that tiny, it might aswell not be there," said Randall.Randall's theory is that there are "membranes" thathttp://observer.case.edu/Archives/Volume_39/Issue_21/Story_1553/ (2 of 3)5/19/2008 4:16:01 PM

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Observer</strong> - <strong>Harvard</strong> <strong>physicist</strong> <strong>gives</strong> <strong>talk</strong> on string theoryact to prevent our universe from existing in morethan three dimensions, much as water droplets on awindow can only move in two dimensions. <strong>The</strong>re maybe many such membranes out there that could allowfor the existence of multiple dimensions, though we,being stuck on our membrane, can not experiencethem.<strong>The</strong>se membranes could also explain the reason thatgravitational force is so much weaker thanelectromagnetic force in our universe. Randallpostulates that there could be a "gravitybrane" onwhich gravity is concentrated, and that only smallamounts of gravity can reach our membrane.Randall's theories and others are all being studiedaround the world to determine the makeup andpossibilities of the universe."We don't know if this is how the universe works, butwe can test it," said Randall.Email: observer@case.eduPhone: (216) 368-2916Fax: (216) 368-2914Mail: <strong>Observer</strong> Office 11111 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44106http://observer.case.edu/Archives/Volume_39/Issue_21/Story_1553/ (3 of 3)5/19/2008 4:16:01 PM