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'Universe' artfully juggles theories

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 October 2003, 06:00 CST

The unfinished legacy of Albert Einstein haunts the modern world of science. Tonight, some physicist Ghostbusters show off their attempts to exorcise this specter.

Based on Columbia University physicist Brian Greene's best-selling book of the same name, The Elegant Universe peeks under the hood of ''string theory.''

This intriguing theory has strong fans and ardent critics among physicists.

The two segments of the show turn their spotlights on a crisis in physics, one invisible to the general public but increasingly embarrassing to the discipline.

Simply put, Einstein's unbelievably accurate explanation of gravity, known as general relativity, is completely out of whack with the equally accurate explanation of electromagnetism, radioactivity and atomic forces known as quantum mechanics. The theories are mankind's most fundamental views of verifiable reality, and the disagreement means that something important about the universe eludes our understanding.

String theory (which views the guts of atoms as vibrating bits of energy, or ''string'') may be what unites these warring branches of physics into a ''theory of everything.'' Searching for such a theory consumed the last decades of Einstein's life, leaving him a peripheral figure in his field.

Using re-enactments, visual puns and sci-fi special effects that for the fairly stuffy physics profession approach a vaudeville performance, Greene and his colleagues explain the basic tenets of modern physics and this crisis. Anyone who has ever wondered what the heck physics is really about should find it interesting.

Wisely, the series creators haven't lost sight of the need to entertain as well as inform. Everyday objects are used to explain complex notions. Equations appear only briefly, as props that are quickly pushed offstage.

Greene is an arresting speaker, introduced at one physics conference last year as a ''rock star of physics.'' But he plays it low-key.

The second segment, airing Nov. 4, suffers a bit from string theory's chief shortcoming: Despite its success in mathematically smoothing out the differences between general relativity and quantum mechanics, none of its predictions has been successfully tested. Physicists widely view the theory as a dodge for scientists who are looking to avoid the work of running actual experiments.

But for viewers, the show offers insight into both the unimaginably large world of black holes and galaxies and the infinitesimally small insides of atoms. And it opens a window into how physicists see reality. Einstein would surely approve of that.The Elegant Universe

PBS, tonight, 8 ET/PT (times may vary)

* * * (out of four)

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