Physics in the 21st Century
Predictions on the future of physics
We this century see the end of active study in physics? Will we truly know the nature of the universe? Probably not.
A little over a century ago, the scientific community thought that all the questions physics were answered with the exception of one. They thought it would just be a matter of time before that question was solved using what was already known. That single, unanswered question led to an explosion of new questions and the birth of quantum mechanics. The field of physics has never been so fertile or chaotic.
Physics is this century will focus on answering questions raised in the last, and will undoubtedly raise more questions. And just as in the last century, new understanding of physics will allow for new forms of technology. We may not have flying cars anytime soon (unfortunately), but we will have new tools at hand that we can hardly imagine.
Here are some of the key areas of exploration:
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
A few years ago, cosmologists discovered that the universe was accelerating in it's expansion. This went against the conventional theory that the expansion of the universe was slowing. This led us to question how much mass was in the universe. We thought we knew how much there was and where. This leads us to look more closely at what might be out there in the dark areas between star clusters. If there is anything else, it is probably more exotic than anything we have yet encountered. It is such a big question mark, we have little idea where it could lead.
Quantum Entanglement
Physicists have been able to teleport (yes, teleport) particles in the lab. This is possible because of an odd property of quantum physics called quantum entanglement. In simplistic terms, two particles that are near can have a relationship where they share information. When they are moved apart, they retain this information. If the information in one particle is changed, that change is reflected in the second, no matter how far away it is. This property is still quite baffling, but it may someday be applied to information processing (not to mention teleportation, and who knows what else).
Complexity and Emergence
Complexity is a messy branch of physics that intersects with mathematics (chaos). Complexity involves such things as turbulence in fluids and biophysical systems such as evolution and the behavior of the brain. Emergence is a related area that studies how systems evolve and change. With the exception of evolution, complexity has been understudied, partly because it's not as glamorous as other areas of physics, but also because the problems are so big.
