Check out my video on the big ideas that go into the Standard Model!
In the late 1800s there were 3 big theories in physics: classical mechanics, statistical mechanics and electromagnetism. But they contradict each other! That was actually good - because resolving the contradictions helped lead us to special relativity and quantum mechanics.
I'll explain how this worked, or more precisely how it *could* have worked: the actual history is far more messy.
Then, I'll sketch out how our theory of electromagnetism led us to the concept of 'gauge theory', which is the basis for the Standard Model.
This is a very quick intro, just to map the territory. I'll go into more detail later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGCUjsF7Dgg&list=PLuAO-1XXEh0YSCSWjTSpbh525AORg-zql
You can see more of my videos of math and physics here too!
But if you prefer to avoid YouTube, you can watch them at the University of Edinburgh:
https://media.ed.ac.uk/channel/Edinburgh%2BExplorations/392767433
John Carlos Baez
npub1nf…3nqe4
2025-11-03 13:18:47 UTC
Author Public Key
npub1nf4p4rh06z6n6lsvje4txk7eqs23y3hs8vd7nraq6tgwady5qvsqy3nqe4Seen on
wss://relay.momostr.pinkPublished at
2025-11-03 13:18:47 UTCEvent JSON
{
"id": "e011e8483f049eebb7cb7c540b9f87d3b9bba396c03e83370ff9d4e5969b60d0",
"pubkey": "9a6a1a8eefd0b53d7e0c966ab35bd904151246f03b1be98fa0d2d0eeb4940320",
"created_at": 1762175927,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"proxy",
"https://mathstodon.xyz/@johncarlosbaez/115485961572413373",
"web"
],
[
"proxy",
"https://mathstodon.xyz/users/johncarlosbaez/statuses/115485961572413373",
"activitypub"
],
[
"L",
"pink.momostr"
],
[
"l",
"pink.momostr.activitypub:https://mathstodon.xyz/users/johncarlosbaez/statuses/115485961572413373",
"pink.momostr"
],
[
"-"
]
],
"content": "Check out my video on the big ideas that go into the Standard Model!\n\nIn the late 1800s there were 3 big theories in physics: classical mechanics, statistical mechanics and electromagnetism. But they contradict each other! That was actually good - because resolving the contradictions helped lead us to special relativity and quantum mechanics. \n\nI'll explain how this worked, or more precisely how it *could* have worked: the actual history is far more messy.\n\nThen, I'll sketch out how our theory of electromagnetism led us to the concept of 'gauge theory', which is the basis for the Standard Model.\n\nThis is a very quick intro, just to map the territory. I'll go into more detail later. \n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGCUjsF7Dgg\u0026list=PLuAO-1XXEh0YSCSWjTSpbh525AORg-zql\n\nYou can see more of my videos of math and physics here too! \n\nBut if you prefer to avoid YouTube, you can watch them at the University of Edinburgh:\n\nhttps://media.ed.ac.uk/channel/Edinburgh%2BExplorations/392767433",
"sig": "b99f89329d30af34578e3f4904e864683317ea4f3bd2c7c334183cf77e033521981426072dd97eb0ffe996f319e73142d1e96617b1c8227753d48720f11ef3cb"
}