‘The Universe Speaks in Numbers’ – Interview 14

MICHAEL DUFF

Soon after the Second String Theory Revolution, which began in 1995, membranes became widely acknowledged to be a crucial part of our understanding of the inner workings of Nature. Graham’s guest in this edition is the membrane pioneer Michael Duff, who talks authoritatively – and with a bracing candour – about the state of string theory (and its successor, M-theory), about its critics and the prospects of a unified theory of all the fundamental forces of nature. This project is likely to be a long haul, he says, and physicists are going to have be patient if they are to achieve their ambitious goal.

This is one of twenty interviews given by world-class experts to Graham on the themes he explores in his new book The Universe Speaks in Numbers. A new interview is posted every week.

Among the other interviewees are Michael Atiyah, Ruth Britto, Lance Dixon, Simon Donaldson, Freeman Dyson, Juan Maldacena, Michela Massimi, Roger Penrose, Martin Rees, Simon Schaffer and Edward Witten.