foundations of chemistry, the functioning of atoms, of solids, of plasmas, of the color of the sky, the dynamics of the stars, the origins of galaxies . . . a thousand aspects of the world. It is at the basis of the latest technologies: from computers to nuclear power. Engineers, astrophysicists, cosmologists, chemists and biologists all use it daily; the rudiments of the theory are included in high school curricula. It has never been wrong. It is the beating heart of today’s science. Yet it remains profoundly mysterious, subtly disturbing.
