• Question: What do you think the hardest scientific theory to understand is?

    Asked by Rfoot to Ellen, Elliot, Hazel, Rupesh, Thomas on 14 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Elliot Jokl

      Elliot Jokl answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      Great question!

      I think there are some reaaaaalllly difficult theories to understand in physics. Particularly in quantum physics, which makes my head hurt a lot to think about, so it is probably a good thing I am a Biologist! I find it very difficult to understand how photons (little bits of light) can kind of be in two places at once, but not really. I’m glad I don’t have to think about that too often!

    • Photo: Hazel Garvie-Cook

      Hazel Garvie-Cook answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      Some scientific theory is really weird! And it’s so hard to get your mind around how it works.
      The science done at CERN, looking for particles like the Higgs Boson that you may have heard about in the news, is really mind boggling. It took a great scientist to come up with the theory of the particles – the idea of them was so different to what was known at the time. Then it’s taken years of huge-scale experiments to show that scientist was right! That kind of science is called Particle Physics.

    • Photo: Rupesh Paudyal

      Rupesh Paudyal answered on 14 Jun 2016:

      My simple little brain can’t cope with some of the theories in Physics like the ones Hazel and Elliot have said.

    • Photo: Ellen Gill

      Ellen Gill answered on 15 Jun 2016:

      That’s a really individual question I think! Everyone’s logic works a bit differently so some things will just click better than others. I love quantum mechanics and particle physics in general, and struggle with electromagnetic theory. (Vector fields! Argh!) But I don’t think any theory is completely beyond understanding if you give it enough time.
      I used to struggle with trigonometry at school as well, but I use it all the time at work now and can do it really easily.

    • Photo: Thomas Biggans

      Thomas Biggans answered on 16 Jun 2016:

      I think this will be different for each person because we all learn and understand things in different ways. There’s been many times in the past where I just don’t get something and then suddenly I have a eureka moment and it makes perfect sense.

      This isn’t exactly a theory but the hardest scientific concept that I have come across is the idea of higher spatial dimensions. Do you remember in primary school when you would make a square box (a 3D cube) out of paper? You start off by drawing six squares on the paper in a t shape. Then you’d cut the t out and fold the paper on the edges of the squares to make it into your box.

      Now to make a 4D cube you have to do the same thing but instead of squares you have to use cubes. So you’ve got six cubes in a t shape and now you need to fold it to make a 4D cube. It’s impossible for us to make sense of that because we live in a 3D world.

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