In science, anything worth talking about must be testable. That is, I can blather all I want about extraterrestrial life in the universe, but unless and until I can test for it, I'm not talking science.
This demand for empirical proof has long undermined one of the more compelling ideas in physics, the one about the building blocks of the universe not being particles of matter or energy, but rather tiny, one-dimensional filaments called strings.
The big problem with string theory, sometimes grandly dubbed the “theory of everything,” has been that it has not been testable. Physicists have debated endlessly about how these strings might behave, about the possibility of 10 or more dimensions, about all manner of mind-bending stuff, but they have always lacked the means to prove or disprove their predictions.
That may change later this year when a new particle smasher called the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) comes on line at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, or CERN, in Switzerland.
The collider will be able to measure how subatomic particles called W bosons scatter in high-energy collisions created within the accelerator. W bosons are notable because they possess a property called the weak force, which provides a fundamental way for particles to interact with each other.
String theory makes specific predictions about how W bosons should scatter. With the LHC in mind, researchers at UCSD, the University of Texas at Austin and Carnegie Mellon University have devised a test to see if those predictions are actually based in reality.
“If the test does not find what the theory predicts about W boson scattering,” said UCSD physics professor Benjamin Grinstein, “it would be evidence that one of string theory's key mathematical assumptions is violated. In other words, string theory – as articulated in its current form – would be proven impossible.”
Where there's a will
While we wait, let's consider another experiment, one that goes from the subatomic to the ridiculous.
According to various promotional materials, Lynne McTaggart is a nationally recognized spokeswoman and investigator in “the science of intention.” Not coincidentally, she has a book out.
Her new book, “The Intention Experiment,” touts the boundless potential of mental energy, encouraging readers to actively “take part in the world's largest mind-over-matter experiment.”
The basic idea is this: McTaggart and her ilk say a field of “quantum energy” crisscrosses the universe, binding everything together.
No matter how small or physically insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things, the connective nature of this universal energy field allows you (or more precisely, your consciousness) to exert influence over anything else in the cosmos.
To help prove it, McTaggart is inviting readers to participate in a series of intention experiments via her Web site (www.theintentionexperiment.com). For example, on a designated day and time, readers will be directed to think about lowering the temperature in a self-enclosed space that may be thousands of miles away. Scientists will be standing by to record any change.
In her book, McTaggart also lists various individual thought experiments, things you can do alone with your brain, such as sending mental vibes to get your husband to give you flowers, stop your dog from barking or achieve higher profits at work.
For those more inclined to collaborative efforts, she advises getting together with like-minded friends to speed mail delivery, reduce violent crime or boost rainfall.
These are all indisputably fine goals, but there's still the problem of proof. How do you produce empirical, reproducible proof that your thoughts alone stopped a cat from scratching a sofa or decreased community alcoholism levels?
You can't. It's not science. It's wishful thinking.
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