DISCOVERING THE FUNDAMENTAL LAWS OF NATURE: THE ASTONISHING QUANTUM WORLD

Stefano Forte, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Università degli Studi di Milano; Maria Ubiali, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge. Moderated by Marco Bersanelli, Professor of Physics and Astrophysics, Università degli Studi di Milano

After a long journey of investigation, experimentation, and reflection, we now know that the infinite variety of natural phenomena stems from a small number of fundamental constituents and forces. We have gradually discovered their properties, which we can now predict and calculate with increasing precision. Yet we have also discovered that the nature of physical laws—and of reality itself — is very different from what the founding fathers of modern science, starting with Einstein, expected. In fact, we have learned that nature follows the bewildering principles of quantum physics. These are universal principles, manifesting clearly in the microscopic world, but only in recent years have we begun to verify them even in the context of everyday life. They are principles opening the way to new technologies—
but above all, they help us realize that the world is made in a very different way than we had imagined.