Nobel Prize winner discusses theory that eluded Einstein

Frank Wilczek gives memorial lecture at Princeton University

By: David Campbell
   Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek admits that he doesn’t have the answer to life, the universe and everything — but you wouldn’t know it to hear him speak.
   Professor Wilczek is the winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research into the world of quarks, the building blocks of the atomic nucleus.
   He shared the prize with physicists David Gross of the University of California-Santa Barbara and H. David Politzer of the California Institute of Technology for their discovery of "asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction."
   Their important theoretical discovery concerned interactions within the atomic nucleus, between the quarks inside the proton and the neutron.
   They found that the closer quarks are to each other, the weaker is the "color charge," and that when the quarks are really close to each other the force is so weak that they behave almost as free particles — a phenomenon called "asymptotic freedom."
   The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in announcing the prize that thanks to their discovery, the three researchers brought physics one step closer to fulfilling a grand dream: a unified theory that includes gravity, as well — a theory for everything. The dream eluded Einstein himself by the time of his death in Princeton in 1955.
   On Thursday, Professor Wilczek, who now teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gave the 2005 Albert Einstein Memorial Lecture at Dodds Auditorium of Robertson Hall on the Princeton University campus. The Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted the lecture.
   He titled his lecture "The Universe is a Strange Place." He noted good-humoredly to his audience of about 150 people: "That covers a lot of ground."
   He said 20th-century physics succeeded in figuring out what ordinary matter is — not without the occasional wrong turn along the way. The last century also raised further questions about the nature and composition of the universe — notably with regard to empty space, which he likened to the fluctuating blobs inside a lava lamp.
   "What we perceive as empty space is evidently this rich dynamic medium," Professor Wilczek said, and also noted: "The astronomers restored our humility."
   They discovered, he continued, that ordinary matter, composed of protons, neutrons and electrons, comprises only 5 percent of the total mass of the universe.
   Two mysterious substances, of which scientists understand very little, make up the rest — dark energy accounts for 70 percent of the total mass, and the remaining 25 percent is composed of something called dark matter.
   "In the next few minutes, I’ll tell you everything we know about dark energy and dark matter," he quipped.
   Dark matter is not really dark. It clumps, but not as tightly as ordinary matter. It is transparent and can be detected only through its gravitational effects.
   "What is the dark matter?" he said. "We don’t know. It’s resisted all attempts to study or experiment with it. The stuff doesn’t seem to want to give its secrets away."
   However, some answers could be had when a new particle accelerator in Geneva opens in 2007.
   Dark energy is evenly spread throughout space and exerts negative pressure. This negative force is behind why they universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate, he continued.
   Professor Wilczek also spoke Thursday about the fragility of life, explaining how the universe as we know it — and the fact that we are here at all to witness it — depends on a very precise balance of elements and physical laws.
   The slightest change in some of these values, and, for example, galaxies could not form, or life on Earth could not exist.
   "The balance in which life exists is very, very close — precarious," Professor Wilczek continued. "Lots of things can go wrong. Life is very delicate and precious."
   Professor Wilczek received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and his doctorate from Princeton University. He taught at Princeton from 1974 to 1981.
   He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study from 1976 to 1978, and a member of the faculty there from 1996 to 2003.
   Thursday’s lecture was made possible with grants from Bovis Lend Lease Inc.; Janssen Pharmaceutica; Sarnoff Corp.; Sensors Unlimited Inc.; Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce Foundation; and co-sponsor Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton.