The role of symmetry in fundamental physics

Skip to content home PDF Page 1 / 4 fullscreen remove_circle_outline add_circle_outline rotate_right search group_add more_horiz get_app info list link Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 93, pp. 14256–14259, December 1996 Colloquium Paper This paper was presented at a colloquium entitled ‘‘Symmetries Throughout the Sciences,’’ organized by Ernest M. Henley, held May 11–12, 1996, at the National Academy of Sciences in Irvine, CA. The role of symmetry in fundamental physics D AVID J. G ROSS Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 ABSTRACT The role of symmetry in fundamental physics is reviewed. Until the 20th century principles of symmetry played little conscious role in theoretical physics. The Greeks and others were fascinated by the symmetries of objects and believed that these would be mirrored in the structure of nature. Even Kepler attempted to impose his notions of symmetry on the motion of the planets. Newton’s laws of m

Skip to content home PDF Page 1 / 4 fullscreen remove_circle_outline add_circle_outline rotate_right search group_add more_horiz get_app info list link Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 93, pp. 14256–14259, December 1996 Colloquium Paper This paper was presented at a colloquium entitled ‘‘Symmetries Throughout the Sciences,’’ organized by Ernest M. Henley, held May 11–12, 1996, at the National Academy of Sciences in Irvine, CA. The role of symmetry in fundamental physics D AVID J. G ROSS Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 ABSTRACT The role of symmetry in fundamental