"Electromagnetic fields [...] are neither charged nor magnetized and thus cannot contribute to their own source. The general theory does reveal a new feature of electromagnetic fields... Since they have energy, they produce gravitational effects and thus affect the structure of space-time, which, in turn, means that an electromagnetic field can affect the motion of non-charged matter." (Nancy Nersessian, "Faraday to Einstein: Constructing Meaning in Scientific Theories", 1984)
"The [...] weak force [...] couples to both quarks and leptons, and is very short-ranged due to the large rest mass of the messenger quanta involved. Its effective strength is usually many orders of magnitude weaker than electromagnetism, and its action can cause particles to change identity, as when a neutron decays. Unlike the electromagnetic and strong forces, the weak force violates parity conservation." (Paul Davies, "Forces of Nature", 1986)
"If grand unified theories are correct, we ought to be able to derive the relative power of the strong, weak, and electromagnetic interactions at accessible energies from their presumed equality at much higher energies. When this is attempted, a wonderful result emerges. …in the form first calculated by Howard Georgi, Helen Quinn, and Steven Weinberg […] The couplings of strong-interaction gluons decrease, those of the [weak interaction] W bosons stay roughly constant, and those of the [electromagnetic interaction] photons increase at short distances [or high energies] - so they all tend to converge, as desired." (Frank Wilczek, "Longing for the Harmonies: Themes and Variations from Modern Physics", 1987)
"Strong, weak and electromagnetic interaction are evidently part of a grand unified theory. These temperatures are today quite inaccessible. They were achieved only in the earliest moments of the Big Bang. Since then, the universe has congealed, losing its symmetry." (Sheldon L Glashow, "The Charm of Physics", 1991)
"Einstein was thus faced with the following apparent problem. Either give up the principle of relativity, which appears to make physics possible by saying that the laws of physics are independent of where you measure them, as long as you are in a state of uniform motion; or give up Maxwell’s beautiful theory of electromagnetism and electromagnetic waves. In a truly revolutionary move, he chose to give up neither. [...] It is a testimony to his boldness and creativity not that he chose to throw out existing laws that clearly worked, but rather that he found a creative way to live within their framework. So creative, in fact, that it sounds nuts." (Lawrence M Krauss, "Fear of Physics: A Guide for the Perplexed", 1993)
"The problems associated with the initial singularity of the universe bring us to what is called the theory of everything. It is an all-encompassing theory that would completely explain me origin of the universe and everything in it. It would bring together general relativity and quantum mechanics, and explain everything there is to know about the elementary particles of the universe, and the four basic forces of nature (gravitational, electromagnetic, weak, and strong nuclear forces). Furthermore, it would explain the basic laws of nature and the fundamental constants of nature such as the speed of light and Planck's constant." (Barry R Parker, "Chaos in the Cosmos: The stunning complexity of the universe", 1996)
"The reason general relativity cannot be unified with electromagnetic theory seems to be related to its nonlinearity. To unify the two fields properly we have to construct a "quantized" version of relativity; in other words, we have to quantize it, and so far no one has." (Barry R Parker, "Chaos in the Cosmos: The stunning complexity of the universe", 1996)
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