Theory of Everything (TOE) is quite famous in physics. It ties together all known phenomena to explain the nature and behavior of all matter and energy in existence. Some of the physicists believe they are now at the point of having a single theory. This theory will unite all of their science under one mathematical umbrella.

In particular, this theory would unify the two great concepts of twentieth-century physics; the general theory of relativity and quantum field theory. There is a clear difference between the two theories.

General Relativity describes the large-scale or cosmological structure of the universe.

Quantum Theory describes the microscopic or subatomic structures of the universe.

Theory of Everything explains the unification of both theories: the very big and the very small.

Let us discuss some of the phenomena that consider theory of everything (TOE) is really for everything

This theory would unify our understanding of all the fundamental physical forces in our universe. There are four such forces that physicists know:

gravity (that keeps planets revolving around their suns, and is responsible for the formation of stars and galaxies)

electromagnetic force (that is responsible for light, heat, electricity, and magnetism and also responsible for holding atoms together)

weak nuclear force (which acts inside atomic nuclei, and is responsible for a certain kind of radioactive decay)

strong nuclear force (which holds together the protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei, and is therefore crucial to the stability of matter).

Physicists have separate theories for each of these forces, but they would like to have one unified theory of all four. That goal is not a dream anymore. Now, we have a theory which unifies two of these forces: the electromagnetic and weak forces. However, unifying all four is proving to be extremely difficult. Nonetheless, most TOE physicists are confident they will achieve this goal in the next few decades.

Spacetime Model as Theory of Everything:

A Theory of Everything is a set of different theories explaining the basic laws of the universe. Based on the curvature of space-time discovered by Einstein in 1910, the Spacetime Model extends General Relativity to all components of the universe. It solves up to 50 enigmas of Modern Physics. Therefore, the Physicists may label Spacetime Model as “Theory of Everything”. Moreover, this TOE is fully compatible with the most recent experiments.

The “TOE” is simply one that gives us a theoretical way of talking simultaneously about general relativity and quantum field theory. A “theory of everything” is just a unification of things we already know, although such a unification would likely bring about lots of other new insights and answers.

String Theory as the TOE:

Some Physicists believe that there is a possibility that String theory may end up being the “theory of everything”. String theory proclaims that the observed particle properties are the different masses and other properties of both the fundamental particles. The force particles associated with the four forces of nature (the strong and weak nuclear forces, electromagnetism, and gravity) are a reflection of the various ways in which a string can vibrate.

For the first time in the history of physics, the physicist proclaims to propose a theory to end theories. We, therefore, have a framework with the capacity to explain every fundamental feature upon which the universe is constructed. For this reason, string theory is sometimes described as possibly being the “theory of everything” (TOE) or the “ultimate” or “final” theory. These descriptive terms are meant to signify the deepest possible theory of physics, a theory that underlies all others and one that does not require or even allow for a deeper explanatory base.

The physicist, Steven Weinberg, who played a major role in unifying the electromagnetic and weak forces has called a theory of all four forces “a final theory”.

Opposing Ideas of the “Theory of Everything”

The problem comes when we realize that these two worldviews (general theory and quantum field theory) are inconsistent with each other. Say what you want about the lack of determinism in quantum field theory and general relativity theory. The problem is that they’re not consistent with each other. The reason is that these two theories (GR and QFT) are our most fundamental theories, meaning that neither of them is derived from something else.

The theory of relativity explains the nature and behavior of all phenomena on the macroscopic level, the quantum theory explains the nature and behavior of all phenomena on the microscopic level. Perplexingly, the two theories are incompatible. Unconvinced that nature would prescribe totally different modes of behavior for phenomena that were simply scaled differently, Einstein sought a theory that would reconcile the two apparently irreconcilable theories that form the basis of modern physics.

References:

▶ http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/unified-field-theory-or-Theory-of-Everything-TOE

▶ http://vixra.org/pdf/1605.0239v1.pdf

▶ http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/intro/purpotoe-frame.html

▶ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/theory-of-everything.html