Every Major has its end.

By Dan O.

Every major has its ends. Virology will end when every disease and virus is understood and eradicated. Business will end during the end of capitalism. Engineering will end when all advances are able to be made. These ends are far, far into the future, but every major will sooner, or later, study and create everything that needs to be study. Even physics has its end, but as Chad Orzel writes, that end is not when most people imagine it to be.

Physics is usually described as the road up to the ultimate prize - the link between quantum physics and the standard model. An equation that links the 4 fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong force, weak force) would be hailed as the holy grail, and one that physicists have been trying to find for centuries. However, even if, and when, this equation is found, physics has a long way to go.

Orzel is great at explaining the physics and math behind many common objects, such as ponytails, and water.

So, for example, the session on Geometry and Mechanics of Folded Filaments, Writhing Ribbons and Braided Bundles opened with a talk by Robin Ball on the physics of ponytails. (A topic of some interest around my house, as our seven-year-old daughter has repeatedly said that she plans to grow her hair out until it reaches the ground…) Predicting the shape of something as commonplace as a bundle of hair turns out to be surprisingly complicated mathematically. Ball and his colleagues have had to do a bunch of heavy mathematical lifting to find a method that matches the shape of hair bundles used by Unilever's cosmetics researchers… Most of the time– there are still a few details they can’t quite match.

- Chad Orzel - "Physics will never be over"

While yes, if the supreme equation is found, many in physics will see it as the supreme end, however, there will always be more phenomena for current and future physicists to study.

Reference: Orzel, C. (2016, March 18). Physics Will Never Be Over. Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorzel/2016/03/18/physics-will-never-be-over/#b388f9d17450