--- title: "3 Dark matter Quotes By Lee Smolin" description: "3 Dark matter quotes by Lee Smolin. Plus more from Lee Smolin and more Dark matter sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/lee-smolin-4171_dark-energy_the-five-great-problems-in-theoretical-p_957284.jpg" --- > [“The Five Great Problems in Theoretical Physics: Problem 1: Combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory that can claim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-five-great-problems-in-theoretical-physics-problem-1-combine/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/lee-smolin-4171_dark-energy_the-five-great-problems-in-theoretical-p_957284.jpg) > [“The dark-matter hypothesis is preferred mostly because the only other possibility-that we are wrong about Newton's laws, and by extension general relativity-is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-dark-matter-hypothesis-is-preferred-mostly-because-the-only-other/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/lee-smolin-4171_dark-matter_the-dark-matter-hypothesis-is-preferred_1094066.png) > [“Things have becone even more mysterious. We have recently discovered that when we make observations at still larger scales, corresponding to billions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/things-have-becone-even-more-mysterious-we-have-recently-discovered/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/lee-smolin-4171_big-bang_things-have-becone-even-more-mysterious_1447005.png) ## Other authors on Dark matter - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-neil-degrasse-tyson-70683.jpg) Neil deGrasse Tyson 13 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-matter/neil-degrasse-tyson/) - [Priyamvada Natarajan 5 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-matter/priyamvada-natarajan/) ## More by Lee Smolin > [“This unification of forces and motion has a simple consequence. In a particle theory, you can freely add all kinds of forces, so there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/this-unification-of-forces-and-motion-has-a-simple-consequence-in-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“One field Faraday studied was the electric field. This is not a number but a vector, which we may visualize as an arrow and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/one-field-faraday-studied-was-the-electric-field-this-is-not-a-number/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“It is interesting to note that the quantum-mechanical revolution was made by a virtually orphaned generation of scientists. Many members of the generation above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/it-is-interesting-to-note-that-the-quantum-mechanical-revolution-was/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“In fact, the particle-antiparticle annihilation and the closing of the string is necessary, if the theory is to be consistent with relativity, meaning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/in-fact-the-particle-antiparticle-annihilation-and-the-closing-of-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Every string theory that's been written down says the speed of light is universal. But other ideas about quantum gravity predict the speed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/every-string-theory-that-s-been-written-down-says-the-speed-of-light/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Unfortunately, no one has ever successfully postulated a super-symmetry holding between two known particles. Instead, in all the supersymmetric theories the numbers of particles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/unfortunately-no-one-has-ever-successfully-postulated-a-super/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [Those who do good science do so because they choose problems that are suited to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/those-who-do-good-science-do-so-because-they-choose-problems-that-are/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Here's a simplified version of what the Stanford group did. They started with a much-studied kind of string theory-a flat four-dimensional spacetime with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/here-s-a-simplified-version-of-what-the-stanford-group-did-they/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The current crisis in particle physics springs from the fact that the theories have gone beyond the standard model in the last thirty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-current-crisis-in-particle-physics-springs-from-the-fact-that-the/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“By the time I began my study of physics in the early 1970s, the idea of unifying gravity with the other forces was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/by-the-time-i-began-my-study-of-physics-in-the-early-1970s-the-idea/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“These two discoveries, of relativity and of the quantum, each required us to break definitively with Newtonian physics. However, in spite of great progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/these-two-discoveries-of-relativity-and-of-the-quantum-each-required/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“So the challenge for any quantum theory of gravity is to give us a deeper understanding of Bekenstein's entropy and Hawking's temperature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/so-the-challenge-for-any-quantum-theory-of-gravity-is-to-give-us-a/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“Problem 1: Combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory that can claim to be the complete theory of nature. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/problem-1-combine-general-relativity-and-quantum-theory-into-a-single/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The loop approach to quantum gravity is now a thriving field of research. Many of the older ideas, such as supergravity and the study…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/the-loop-approach-to-quantum-gravity-is-now-a-thriving-field-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“During the life of a black hole, it will pull in huge amounts of matter, carrying huge amounts of intrinsic information. At the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/during-the-life-of-a-black-hole-it-will-pull-in-huge-amounts-of/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-matter/lee-smolin/#itemlist", "name": "3 Dark matter Quotes By Lee Smolin", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Five Great Problems in Theoretical Physics: Problem 1: Combine general relativity and quantum theory into a single theory that can claim to be the complete theory of nature. This is called the problem of quantum gravity. Problem 2: Resolve the problems in the foundations of quantum mechanics, either by making sense of the theory as it stands or by inventing a new theory that does make sense. Problem 3: Determine whether or not the various particles and forces can be unified in a theory that explains them all as manifestations of a single, fundamental entity. Problem 4: Explain how the values of the free constants in the standard model of particle physics are chosen in nature. Problem 5: Explain dark matter and dark energy. Or, if they don't exist, determine how and why gravity is modified on large scales. 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We have recently discovered that when we make observations at still larger scales, corresponding to billions of light-years, the equations of general relativity are not satisfied even when the dark matter is added in. The expansion of the universe, set in motion by the big bang some 13.7 billion years ago, appears to be accelerating, whereas, given the observed matter plus the calculated amount of dark matter, it should be doing the opposite-decelerating. Again there are two possible explanations. General relativity could simply be wrong. It has been verified precisely only within our solar system and nearby systems in our own galaxy. Perhaps when one gets to a scale comparable to the size of the whole universe, general relativity is simply no longer applicable. Or there is a new form of matter-or energy (recall Einstein's famous equation E=mc^2, showing the equivalence of energy and mass)-that becomes relevant on these very large scales: That is, this new form of energy affects only the expansion of the universe. To do this, it cannot clump around galaxies or even clusters of galaxies. 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