17 Feb 2012
In ‘Baths and Quarks’, theoretical physics expert David Tong explains solitons and their effect on quarks and protons. ‘Solitons’ — solitary waves which can be seen as bubble rings in the bath — make it impossible for quarks and protons to be separated, thus holding together the universe, he says. “Baths would be so much more relaxing if they weren’t so interesting. Bubble rings – there’s something strange and unnatural about these objects – so structural where you wouldn’t expect to see structure. When I get out of the bath and pull the plug, there’s a world of water that drains away – a vortex – it’s very similar to the bubble rings, and objects like these may just hold the key to one of the most important problems in particle physics [relating to quarks and protons]. My name is David Tong. My job is to understand the beautiful things that I see in the world around me. But to describe them properly, I have to understand them in the language in which nature is written.”

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