Quantum Physics Meets Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think on such things.

Philippians 4:8

Einstein's theory explains what happens when things move very rapidly. However, his special theory of relativity--when combined with quantum physics--gives quantum physicists the ability to create quantum field theories that alleviate at least some of their headaches.

Five fundamental forces govern everything in the universe: Spirit, gravity, the weak force, electromagnetism, and the strong force. Physical sciences are concerned with the first four of these, while three quantum field theories have been able to grapple with only three of these.

Three distinct quantum field theories have carved out three of the five fundamental forces by which Matter interacts: electro-magnetism (which explains how atoms hold together); the strong nuclear force (which explains the stability of the nucleus at the heart of the atom); and the weak nuclear force (which explains why some atoms undergo radioactive decay).

Over the past six decades, three theories have been brought together, known as the "standard model" of particle physics, and until recently served as the most accurate picture of how Matter works.

In 2012, the "standard model" proved itself with the discovery of the Higgs boson--the particle that gives all other fundamental particles their mass. Although it had not been discovered until 2012, the Higgs boson's existence was predicted by quantum field theories as far back as 1964.  

Despite this and other scientific breakthroughs using quantum physics, some lesser problems remain. One example is how electrons move (or do not move) through a solid material to make a material a metal, an insulator, or a semiconductor. 

The multiplied billions of interactions in these crowded environments require the development of effective field theories that can explain why many important questions in solid-state physics remain unresolved.