is multiplied by c^2. In order to produce a particle of mass m, one must look
at the equivalent equation mE/c^2 ; and it takes a lot of E to produce a very
little m. This means that particle accelerators have to be built ever larger to
supply the E necessary to create the new particles; and the larger the m of
the new particles, the larger the necessary E. There are string theories in
which the masses of the key particles are accessible to the next generation
of accelerators—but also there are string theories in which this is not the
case. The key parameter is the size of the fundamental entity—the vibrat-
ing string—and the smaller the string, the more energy is needed.
The Man of the Millennium
One of my great disappointments of 1999 was Time magazine’s failure to
nominate a Man of the Millennium. It was some consolation that it nom-
inated Einstein as the Man of the Century (good choice!), but it missed a
golden opportunity. For me, Isaac Newton was even more of a clear-cut
choice for Man of the Millennium than Einstein was for Man of the Cen-
tury, and there aren’t a whole lot of opportunities to nominate a Man of
the Millennium.
Isaac Newton is best known for his theory of gravitation, but this is only
one of his many accomplishments in both mathematics and physics.
However, Newton’s biggest accomplishment transcends mathematics and
physics, and is the reason that he deserves to be Man of the Millennium:
he formulated the scientific method, which helped to kick-start the
Industrial Revolution and all that has happened since. The scientific
method, as Newton employed it, consisted of gathering data (or examin-
ing existing data), devising a theory to explain the data, mathematically
deriving predictions from the theory, and checking to see whether those
predictions were valid. He did this not only for gravitation, but for me-
chanics and optics, and transformed Western civilization.The Man of the Century
Newton’s theory of gravitation is unquestionably one of the great intellec-
tual achievements of mankind. It not only explains most everyday stuff,
such as the orbits of the planets and the motion of the tides; it is even deep
enough to allow for concepts such as black holes, which were at best blue-
sky (or black-sky) ideas until a few decades ago. However, the physicists of
the late nineteenth century realized that the theory wasn’t perfect—some
measurements (notably the precession of the orbit of Mercury) differed
significantly from the values calculated using Newton’s theory.Space and Time: Is That All There Is? 143