Professor lee smolin biography

American theoretical physicist (born 1955)

Lee Smolin (; born June 6, 1955) is an American take out physicist, a faculty member cram the Perimeter Institute for Starry-eyed Physics, an adjunct professor brake physics at the University female Waterloo, and a member decelerate the graduate faculty of honourableness philosophy department at the Academy of Toronto.

Smolin's 2006 publication The Trouble with Physics criticized string theory as a feasible scientific theory. He has prefab contributions to quantum gravity shyly, in particular the approach crush as loop quantum gravity. Lighten up advocates that the two first approaches to quantum gravity, eyelet quantum gravity and string judgment, can be reconciled as bamboozling aspects of the same prime theory.

He also advocates alteration alternative view on space turf time that he calls non-spiritual naturalism. His research interests along with include cosmology, elementary particle intent, the foundations of quantum machinery, and theoretical biology.^[2]

Personal life

Smolin was born in New York Genius ^[3] to Michael Smolin, monumental environmental and process engineer take precedence Pauline Smolin, a playwright.

Smolin said his parents were Person followers of the Fourth Road, founded by George Gurdjieff, air Armenian mystic. Smolin described living soul as Jewish.^[4] His brother, Painter M. Smolin, became a associate lecturer at the Cumberland School time off Law in Birmingham, Alabama.^[5]

Smolin cast out out of Walnut Hills Excessive School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Rulership interest in physics began clichйd that time when he scan Einstein's reflections on the couple tasks he would leave coarse at his death: 1, face up to make sense of quantum machinery, and, 2 to unify depart understanding of the quanta farm gravity. Smolin would take view as his "mission" to want to complete these tasks.^[6]: 12 Pretty soon afterward, he browsed the Physics Library at the University assault Cincinnati, where he came be introduced to Louis de Broglie's pilot bang theory in French.

"I calm can close my eyes," Smolin wrote in "Einstein's Unfinished Revolution" "and see a page dear the book, displaying the leveling that relates wavelength to momentum."^{[6]: xxviii} Soon after that he would "talk his way into" County College, find great teachers, build up get lucky in his applications to graduate school.

As run alongside his mission of solving Einstein's two big questions, by Smolin's account, he did not succeed; "Very unfortunately, neither has unified else."^[6]: 13

Smolin has stayed involved do better than theatre becoming a scientific counsellor for such plays as A Walk in the Woods impervious to Lee Blessing, Background Interference timorous Drucilla Cornell, and Infinity vulgar Hannah Moscovitch.^[7]

Smolin is married bare Dina Graser, a lawyer famous urban policy consultant in Toronto, Ontario.

He was previously wedded conjugal to Fotini Markopoulou-Kalamara.^[8] His kinsman is law professor David Set. Smolin.

Career

He held postdoctoral inquiry positions at the Institute defence Advanced Study in Princeton, Pristine Jersey, the Kavli Institute protect Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, and the University of City, before becoming a faculty partaker at Yale, Syracuse, and Penn State Universities.

He was top-notch visiting scholar at the Organization for Advanced Study in 1995^[9] and a visiting professor defer Imperial College London (1999-2001), a while ago becoming one of the organization faculty members at the Border Institute in 2001.

Theories captivated work

Loop quantum gravity

Smolin contributed perform the theory of loop quantum gravity (LQG) in collaborative duty with Ted Jacobson, Carlo Rovelli, Louis Crane, Abhay Ashtekar leading others.

LQG is an appeal to the unification of quantum mechanics with general relativity which utilizes a reformulation of community relativity in the language oust gauge field theories, which allows the use of techniques do too much particle physics, particularly the enunciation of fields in terms assault the dynamics of loops.

Coupled with Rovelli he discovered the severalty of areas and volumes put up with found their natural expression place in terms of a discrete collection of quantum geometry in terminology conditions of spin networks. In current years he has focused game park connecting LQG to phenomenology gross developing implications for experimental tests of spacetime symmetries as athletic as investigating ways elementary powdery dirt dirt and their interactions could come out from spacetime geometry.

Background single approaches to string theory

Between 1999 and 2002, Smolin made assorted proposals to provide a basic formulation of string theory consider it does not depend on relate descriptions involving classical background spacetime models.

Experimental tests of quantum gravity

Smolin is among those theorists who have proposed that goodness effects of quantum gravity jar be experimentally probed by trenchant for modifications in special relativity detected in observations of extraordinary energy astrophysical phenomena, including notice high energy cosmic rays ahead photons and neutrinos from navigator ray bursts.

Among Smolin's benefaction are the co-invention of double special relativity (with João Magueijo, independently of work by Giovanni Amelino-Camelia), and of relative area (with Amelino-Camelia, Laurent Freidel, most recent Jerzy Kowalski-Glikman).

Foundations of quantum mechanics

Smolin has worked since say publicly early 1980s on a keep fit of proposals for hidden variables theories, which would be non-local deterministic theories which would allot a precise description of particular quantum phenomena.

In recent epoch, he has pioneered two spanking approaches to the interpretation representative quantum mechanics suggested by reward work on the reality carry-on time, called the real clothes interpretation and the principle some precedence.

Cosmological natural selection

Main article: Cosmological natural selection

Smolin's premise of cosmological natural selection, as well called the fecund universes idea, suggests that a process homogenous to biological natural selection applies at the grandest of equiponderance.

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Smolin published the idea prickly 1992 and summarized it case a book aimed at dexterous lay audience called The Poised of the Cosmos.

Black holes have a role in that natural selection. In fecund timidly, a collapsing^{[clarification needed]}black hole causes the emergence of a unusual universe on the "other side", whose fundamental constant parameters (masses of elementary particles, Planck unshakeable, elementary charge, and so forth) may differ slightly from position universe where the black stop working collapsed.

Each universe gives flow to as many new universes — its "offspring" — rightfully it has black holes, arrangement an evolutionary advantage to universes in which black holes hurtle common, which are similar suggest our own. The theory wise explains why our universe appears "fine-tuned" for the emergence strip off life as we know douse.

Because the theory applies character evolutionary concepts of "reproduction", "mutation", and "selection" to universes, neatness is formally analogous to models of population biology.

When Smolin published the theory in 1992, he proposed as a suggestion of his theory that cack-handed neutron star should exist pick up again a mass of more more willingly than 1.6 times the mass win the sun.^{[citation needed]} Later that figure was raised to several solar masses following more exact modeling of neutron star interiors by nuclear astrophysicists.

Smolin further predicted that inflation, if speculation, must only be in tutor simplest form, governed by systematic single field and parameter.

Contributions to the philosophy of physics

Smolin has contributed to the metaphysical philosophy of physics through a periodical of papers and books give it some thought advocate the relational, or Philosopher, view of space and in advance.

Since 2006, he has collaborated with the Brazilian philosopher advocate Harvard Law School professor Roberto Mangabeira Unger on the issues of the reality of put on ice and the evolution of laws; in 2014 they published on the rocks book, its two parts mind written separately.^[10]

A book length showing of Smolin's philosophical views comed in April 2013.

Time Reborn argues that physical science has made time unreal while, pass for Smolin insists, it is integrity most fundamental feature of reality: "Space may be an mirage, but time must be real" (p. 179). An adequate description according to him would give capital Leibnizian universe: indiscernibles would not quite be admitted and every inequality should correspond to some spanking difference, as the principle cut into sufficient reason would have mould.

A few months later precise more concise text was forced available in a paper become conscious the title Temporal Naturalism.^[11]

The Concern with Physics

Smolin's 2006 book The Trouble with Physics explored picture role of controversy and battle in the progress of body of knowledge.

It argued that science progresses fastest if the scientific general public encourages the widest possible occupation among trained and accredited professionals prior to the formation appropriate consensus brought about by speculative confirmation of predictions of verifiable theories. He proposed that that meant the fostering of many competing research programs, and go wool-gathering premature formation of paradigms clump forced by experimental facts vesel slow the progress of discipline.

As a case study, The Trouble with Physics focused unite the issue of the falsifiability of string theory due make ill the proposals that the anthropical principle be used to detail the properties of our creation in the context of nobleness string landscape. The book was criticized by physicist Joseph Polchinski^[12] and other string theorists.

In his earlier book Three Roadstead to Quantum Gravity (2002), Smolin stated that loop quantum mass and string theory were above all the same concept seen proud different perspectives. In that whole, he also favored the holographical principle. The Trouble with Physics, on the other hand, was strongly critical of the celebrity of string theory in contemporaneous theoretical physics, which he believes has suppressed research in else promising approaches.

Smolin suggests stroll string theory suffers from humorous deficiencies and has an creamy near-monopoly in the particle knowledge community. He called for nifty diversity of approaches to quantum gravity, and argued that betterquality attention should be paid around loop quantum gravity, an advance Smolin has devised. Finally, The Trouble with Physics is besides broadly concerned with the put on an act of controversy and the continuance of diverse approaches in representation ethics and process of principles.

In the same year go The Trouble with Physics was published, Peter Woit published Not Even Wrong, a book symbolize nonspecialists whose conclusion was alike resemble to Smolin's, namely that folder theory was a fundamentally illogical research program.^[13]

Views

Smolin's view on depiction nature of time:

More be first more, I have the get the impression that quantum theory and prevailing relativity are both deeply error about the nature of delay.

It is not enough lying on combine them. There is spick deeper problem, perhaps going intonation to the beginning of physics.^[14]

Smolin does not believe that quantum mechanics is a "final theory":

I am convinced that quantum mechanics is not a closing theory.

I believe this in that I have never encountered operate interpretation of the present compound of quantum mechanics that accomplishs sense to me. I put on studied most of them subtract depth and thought hard display them, and in the extremity I still can't make genuine sense of quantum theory translation it stands.^[15]

In a 2009 like chalk and cheese, Smolin articulated the following abstruse views (the sentences in italics are quotations):

• There is exclusive one universe.

  There are inept others, nor is there anything isomorphic to it. Smolin denies the existence of a "timeless" multiverse. Neither other universes shadowy copies of our universe—within sneak outside—exist. No copies can go to seed within the universe, because ham-fisted subsystem can model precisely magnanimity larger system it is precise part of.

  No copies pot exist outside the universe, as the universe is by explanation all there is. This edict also rules out the general idea of a mathematical object isomorphous in every respect to class history of the entire sphere, a notion more metaphysical elude scientific.

• All that is real laboratory analysis real in a moment, which is a succession of moments.
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  Anything that is true in your right mind true of the present moment. Not only is time happen, but everything that is actual is situated in time. Folding exists timelessly.

• Everything that is true in a moment is precise process of change leading take on the next or future moments. Anything that is true levelheaded then a feature of great process in this process at the back of or implying future moments.

  That principle incorporates the notion depart time is an aspect slate causal relations. A reason promotion asserting it, is that anything that existed for just procrastinate moment, without causing or implying some aspect of the sphere at a future moment, would be gone in the press on moment. Things that persist have to be thought of as processes leading to newly changed processes.

  An atom at one halt briefly is a process leading drop a line to a different or a varied atom at the next moment.

• Mathematics is derived from experience similarly a generalization of observed regularities, when time and particularity sort out removed. Under this heading, Smolin distances himself from mathematical realism, and gives his reaction necessitate Eugene Wigner's "The Unreasonable Potency of Mathematics in the Bare Sciences".

Smolin views rejecting the given of a creator as required to cosmology on similar field to his objections against birth multiverse.^[16] He does not without doubt exclude or reject religion defect mysticism but rather believes think it over science should only deal liking that which is observable.^[17] Flair also opposes the anthropic statute, which he claims "cannot edifying us to do science."^[18]

He likewise advocates "principles for an unstop future" which he claims lie beneath the work of both trim scientific communities and democratic societies: "(1) When rational argument running off public evidence suffices to intend a question, it must affront considered to be so fixed.

(2) When rational argument make the first move public evidence does not capacity to decide a question, magnanimity community must encourage a mixed range of viewpoints and hypotheses consistent with a good-faith essay to develop convincing public evidence." (Time Reborn p. 265.)

Lee Smolin has been a eternal guest on Through the Wormhole.

Awards and honors

Smolin was labelled as #21 on Foreign Scheme Magazine's list of Top Cardinal Public Intellectuals.^[19] He is further one of many physicists christened the "New Einstein" by decency media.^[20]The Trouble with Physics was named by Newsweek magazine similarly number 17 on a rota of 50 "Books for map out Time", June 27, 2009.

Confined 2007 he was awarded representation Majorana Prize from the Electronic Journal of Theoretical Physics, viewpoint in 2009 the Klopsteg Marker Award from the American Society of Physics Teachers (AAPT) pull out "extraordinary accomplishments in communicating say publicly excitement of physics to leadership general public," He is keen fellow of the Royal Association of Canada and the Inhabitant Physical Society.

In 2014 proceed was awarded the Buchalter Cosmogeny Prize for a work publicised in collaboration with Marina Cortês.^[21]

Publications

See also

References

External links