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A Theory of Everything?


In this excerpt from his book The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene explains why string theory might hold the key to unifying the four forces of nature.

A Conversation
with Brian Greene 


The series host says we may not be smart enough to ever fully understand the universe, he'd like to know now if string theory is wrong, and more.

Viewpoints on
String Theory 


Leading physicists offer insights—and sometimes conflicting opinions—on the nature and meaning of string theory.

Imagining Other Dimensions


Our brains may not be equipped to picture ten spatial dimensions, but see if you can get to at least four here.

Extreme Life on Earth

The more we study life on Earth, the more we learn how amazingly resilient it is.  Virtually everywhere we look, even in places previously thought to be completely inhospitable to life, we find creatures not just surviving, but thriving.  We find organisms evolved to take advantage of nearly every form of energy and to exploit every available resource.  As our knowledge about life has grown in recent decades, so has the idea that Earth might not be the only place that life could survive. 

 

Astrobiologists – scientists interested in the understanding the prospects for life beyond Earth – study life in some of Earth’s most “extreme” environments in order to understand the full range of life’s capabilities and limitations.  By comparing these findings to the range of environmental conditions presented by other bodies in the solar system, we identify potentially “habitable” environments beyond Earth. 

 

A new Academy exhibit, “Xtreme Life,” examines some of these Earthly extreme environments and the amazing life forms that inhabit them, and explores the possibilities for life elsewhere in the Universe.

Shock wave in Stephen's Quintet captured by Spitzer. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Click to enlarge