The history of quantum field theory starts with its creation by Paul Dirac, when he attempted to quantize the electromagnetic field in the late 1920s. Major advances in the theory were made in the 1950s, and led to the introduction of quantum electrodynamics (QED). QED was so successful and "natural" that efforts were made to use the same basic concepts to the other forces of nature. These efforts were successful in the application of gauge theory to the strong nuclear force and weak nuclear force, producing the modern standard model of particle physics. Efforts to describe gravity using the same techniques have, to date, failed. The study of quantum field theory is alive and flourishing, as are applications of this method to many physical problems. It remains one of the most vital areas of theoretical physics today, providing a common language to many branches of physics.
Read more about History Of Quantum Field Theory: History, Modern Developments
Famous quotes containing the words history of, history, quantum, field and/or theory:
“Social history might be defined negatively as the history of a people with the politics left out.”
—G.M. (George Macaulay)
“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)
“But how is one to make a scientist understand that there is something unalterably deranged about differential calculus, quantum theory, or the obscene and so inanely liturgical ordeals of the precession of the equinoxes.”
—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948)
“It is through attentive love, the ability to ask “What are you going through?” and the ability to hear the answer that the reality of the child is both created and respected.”
—Mary Field Belenky (20th century)
“The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)