A2 OCR B Advancing Physics Coursework - Research and Report - The development of a Theory of Gravity

The first 200 words of this essay...

The development of a Theory of Gravity.

What's behind it and where does it stand in relation to the other forces?

Abstract:

The Theory of Gravity has been transformed through the last century, from an original and important classical framework to more recent relativistic and then quantum interpretations, eventually culminating in a specific requirement to link it all together with the other forces and create a unified theory of everything. The search for unification is currently very much dependent upon experimentation and raises questions as to the scientific validity of String Theory and whether it exists as science or philosophy - or indeed just an elegant, but meaningless, example of mathematical aesthetics.

1. Introduction

The ultimate goal for physicists is to devise a unified theory, which describes the universe all in one go. However, this proves difficult - there are partial theories which do not fit together, each predicting a limiting number of observations and neglecting others. Nevertheless the Standard Model exists as a framework for the coming together of partial theories.

1.1 The Basics of the Standard Model

In matter there appears to be four basic forces at work. Gravity is the