Many physicists have come to believe that a mystery is unfolding in every microbe, animal, and human—one that could redefine the field for the next generation, Adam Frank writes. theatln.tc/WeeWT60x
For most of the 20th century, physicists largely ignored living systems and whole organisms. “Physics students learn about the basic stuff of reality—space and time, energy and matter—and are told that all other scientific disciplines must reduce back down to the fundamental particles and laws that physics has generated,” Frank explains. “This philosophy, called ‘reductionism,’ worked pretty well from Newton’s laws through much of the 20th century as physicists discovered electrons, quarks, the theory of relativity, and so on.”
Over the past few decades, however, progress in the most reductionist branches of physics has slowed. Now, Frank writes, many of his colleagues are beginning to reassess the field’s dismissal of living things.
The study of life “will take us to places we’ve never imagined, opening a path for the future of our field that, for once, unfolds on a level playing field with biologists, ecologists, neuroscientists, and sociologists,” Frank argues. “At its best, the pursuit of fundamental answers about the nature of living things might lead physicists not only to new scientific marvels, but also to an entirely new way of doing science.”
The Atlantic
Many physicists have come to believe that a mystery is unfolding in every microbe, animal, and human—one that could redefine the field for the next generation, Adam Frank writes. theatln.tc/WeeWT60x
For most of the 20th century, physicists largely ignored living systems and whole organisms. “Physics students learn about the basic stuff of reality—space and time, energy and matter—and are told that all other scientific disciplines must reduce back down to the fundamental particles and laws that physics has generated,” Frank explains. “This philosophy, called ‘reductionism,’ worked pretty well from Newton’s laws through much of the 20th century as physicists discovered electrons, quarks, the theory of relativity, and so on.”
Over the past few decades, however, progress in the most reductionist branches of physics has slowed. Now, Frank writes, many of his colleagues are beginning to reassess the field’s dismissal of living things.
The study of life “will take us to places we’ve never imagined, opening a path for the future of our field that, for once, unfolds on a level playing field with biologists, ecologists, neuroscientists, and sociologists,” Frank argues. “At its best, the pursuit of fundamental answers about the nature of living things might lead physicists not only to new scientific marvels, but also to an entirely new way of doing science.”
Read more: theatln.tc/WeeWT60x
🎨: Anna Ruch / The Atlantic. Sources: Manuel Nieberle / Miles Matsui Schleifer / Connected Archives; De Agostini / Getty.
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