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(portraitbyR.Tollast,1963reproducedbypermissionoftheMasterandFellowsofSt.John'sCollege,Cambridge)

TheRelationbetweenMathematicsandPhysics
PaulAdrienMauriceDirac

LecturedeliveredonpresentationoftheJAMESSCOTTprize,February6,1939
Publishedin:ProceedingsoftheRoyalSociety(Edinburgh)Vol.59,193839,PartIIpp.
122129

Thephysicist,inhisstudyofnaturalphenomena,hastwomethodsofmakingprogress:(1)
themethodofexperimentandobservation,and(2)themethodofmathematicalreasoning.
Theformerisjustthecollectionofselecteddatathelatterenablesonetoinferresultsabout
experimentsthathavenotbeenperformed.Thereisnologicalreasonwhythesecond
methodshouldbepossibleatall,butonehasfoundinpracticethatitdoesworkandmeets
withreasonablesuccess.ThismustbeascribedtosomemathematicalqualityinNature,a
qualitywhichthecasualobserverofNaturewouldnotsuspect,butwhichneverthelessplays
animportantroleinNature'sscheme.
OnemightdescribethemathematicalqualityinNaturebysayingthattheuniverseisso
constitutedthatmathematicsisausefultookinitsdescription.However,recentadvancesin
physicalscienceshowthatthisstatementofthecaseistootrivial.Theconnectionbetween
mathematicsandthedescriptionoftheuniversegoesfardeeperthanthis,andonecangetan
appreciationofitonlyfromathoroughexaminationofthevariousfactsthatmakeitup.The
mainaimofmytalktoyouwillbetogiveyousuchanappreciation.Iproposetodealwith
howthephysicist'sviewsonthissubjecthavebeengraduallymodifiedbythesuccessionof
recentdevelopmentsinphysics,andthenIwouldliketomakealittlespeculationaboutthe
future.
Letustakeasourstartingpointthatschemeofphysicalsciencewhichwasgenerally
acceptedinthelastcenturythemechanisticscheme.Thisconsidersthewholeuniverseto
beadynamicalsystem(ofcourseanextremelycomplicateddynamicalsystem),subjectto
lawsofmotionwhichareessentiallyoftheNewtoniantype.Theroleofmathematicsinthis
schemeistorepresentthelawsofmotionbyequations,andtoobtainsolutionsofthe
equationsreferringtoobservedconditions.
Thedominatingideainthisapplicationofmathematicstophysicsisthattheequations
representingthelawsofmotionshouldbeofasimpleform.Thewholesuccessofthe
schemeisduetothefactthatequationsofsimpleformdoseemtowork.Thephysicistis
thusprovidedwithaprincipleofsimplicity,whichhecanuseasaninstrumentofresearch.If
heobtains,fromsomeroughexperiments,datawhichfitinroughlywithcertainsimple
equations,heinfersthatifheperformedtheexperimentsmoreaccuratelyhewouldobtain
datafittinginmoreaccuratelywiththeequations.Themethodismuchrestricted,however,
sincetheprincipleofsimplicityappliesonlytofundamentallawsofmotion,nottonatural
phenomenaingeneral.Forexample,roughexperimentsabouttherelationbetweenthe
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pressureandvolumeofagasatafixedtemperaturegiveresultsfittinginwithalawof
inverseproportionality,butitwouldbewrongtoinferthatmoreaccurateexperimentswould
confirmthislawwithgreateraccuracy,asoneisheredealingwithaphenomenonwhichis
notconnectedinanyverydirectwaywiththefundamentallawsofmotion.
Thediscoveryofthetheoryofrelativitymadeitnecessarytomodifytheprincipleof
simplicity.Presumablyoneofthefundamentallawsofmotionisthelawofgravitation
which,accordingtoNewton,isrepresentedbyaverysimpleequation,but,accordingto
Einstein,needsthedevelopmentofanelaboratetechniquebeforeitsequationcanevenbe
writtendown.Itistruethat,fromthestandpointofhighermathematics,onecangivereasons
infavouroftheviewthatEinstein'slawofgravitationisactuallysimplerthanNewton's,but
thisinvolvesassigningarathersubtlemeaningtosimplicity,whichlargelyspoilsthe
practicalvalueoftheprincipleofsimplicityasaninstrumentofresearchintothefoundations
ofphysics.
Whatmakesthetheoryofrelativitysoacceptabletophysicistsinspiteofitsgoingagainst
theprincipleofsimplicityisitsgreatmathematicalbeauty.Thisisaqualitywhichcannotbe
defined,anymorethanbeautyinartcanbedefined,butwhichpeoplewhostudy
mathematicsusuallyhavenodifficultyinappreciating.Thetheoryofrelativityintroduced
mathematicalbeautytoanunprecedentedextentintothedescriptionofNature.Therestricted
theorychangedourideasofspaceandtimeinawaythatmaybesummarisedbystatingthat
thegroupoftransformationstowhichthespacetimecontinuumissubjectmustbechanged
fromtheGalileangrouptotheLorentzgroup.Thelattergroupisamuchmorebeautiful
thingthantheformerinfact,theformerwouldbecalledmathematicallyadegenerate
specialcaseofthelatter.Thegeneraltheoryofrelativityinvolvedanotherstepofarather
similarcharacter,althoughtheincreaseinbeautythistimeisusuallyconsideredtobenot
quitesogreataswiththerestrictedtheory,whichresultsinthegeneraltheorybeingnotquite
sofirmlybelievedinastherestrictedtheory.
Wenowseethatwehavetochangetheprincipleofsimplicityintoaprincipleof
mathematicalbeauty.Theresearchworker,inhiseffortstoexpressthefundamentallawsof
Natureinmathematicalform,shouldstrivemainlyformathematicalbeauty.Heshouldstill
takesimplicityintoconsiderationinasubordinatewaytobeauty.(ForexampleEinstein,in
choosingalawofgravitation,tookthesimplestonecompatiblewithhisspacetime
continuum,andwassuccessful.).Itoftenhappensthattherequirementsofsimplicityandof
beautyarethesame,butwheretheyclashthelattermusttakeprecedence.
Letuspassontothesecondrevolutioninphysicalthoughtofthepresentcenturythe
quantumtheory.Thisisatheoryofatomicphenomenabasedonamechanicsofan
essentiallydifferenttypefromNewton's.Thedifferencemaybeexpressedconcisely,butina
ratherabstractway,bysayingthatdynamicalvariablesinquantummechanicsaresubjectto
analgebrainwhichthecommutativeaxiomofmultiplicationdoesnothold.Apartfromthis,
thereisanextremelycloseformalanalogybetweenquantummechanicsandtheold
mechanics.Infact,itisremarkablehowadaptabletheoldmechanicsistothegeneralization
ofnoncommutativealgebra.Alltheelegantfeaturesoftheoldmechanicscanbecarried
overtothenewmechanics,wheretheyreappearwithanenhancedbeauty.
Quantummechanicsrequirestheintroductionintophysicaltheoryofavastnewdomainof
puremathematicsthewholedomainconnectedwithnoncommutativemultiplication.This,
comingontopoftheintroductionofnewgeometriesbythetheoryofrelativity,indicatesa
trendwhichwemayexpecttocontinue.Wemayexpectthatinthefuturefurtherbig
domainsofpuremathematicswillhavetobebroughtintodealwiththeadvancesin
fundamentalphysics.
Puremathematicsandphysicsarebecomingevermorecloselyconnected,thoughtheir
methodsremaindifferent.Onemaydescribethesituationbysayingthatthemathematician
playsagameinwhichhehimselfinventstheruleswhilethephysicistplaysagameinwhich
therulesareprovidedbyNature,butastimegoesonitbecomesincreasinglyevidentthatthe
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ruleswhichthemathematicianfindsinterestingarethesameasthosewhichNaturehas
chosen.Itisdifficulttopredictwhattheresultofallthiswillbe.Possibly,thetwosubjects
willultimatelyunify,everybranchofpuremathematicsthenhavingitsphysicalapplication,
itsimportanceinphysicsbeingproportionaltoitsinterestinmathematics.Atpresentweare,
ofcourse,veryfarfromthisstage,evenwithregardtosomeofthemostelementary
questions.Forexample,onlyfourdimensionalspaceisofimportanceinphysics,while
spaceswithothernumbersofdimensionsareofaboutequalinterestinmathematics.
Itmaywellbe,however,thatthisdiscrepancyisduetotheincompletenessofpresentday
knowledge,andthatfuturedevelopmentswillshowfourdimensionalspacetobeoffar
greatermathematicalinterestthanalltheothers.
Thetrendofmathematicsandphysicstowardsunificationprovidesthephysicistwitha
powerfulnewmethodofresearchintothefoundationsofhissubject,amethodwhichhasnot
yetbeenappliedsuccessfully,butwhichIfeelconfidentwillproveitsvalueinthefuture.
Themethodistobeginbychoosingthatbranchofmathematicswhichonethinkswillform
thebasisofthenewtheory.Oneshouldbeinfluencedverymuchinthischoiceby
considerationsofmathematicalbeauty.Itwouldprobablybeagoodthingalsotogivea
preferencetothosebranchesofmathematicsthathaveaninterestinggroupof
transformationsunderlyingthem,sincetransformationsplayanimportantroleinmodern
physicaltheory,bothrelativityandquantumtheoryseemingtoshowthattransformationsare
ofmorefundamentalimportancethanequations.Havingdecidedonthebranchof
mathematics,oneshouldproceedtodevelopitalongsuitablelines,atthesametimelooking
forthatwayinwhichitappearstolenditselfnaturallytophysicalinterpretation.
ThismethodwasusedbyJordaninanattempttogetanimprovedquantumtheoryonthe
basisofanalgebrawithnonassociativemultiplication.Theattemptwasnotsuccessful,as
onewouldratherexpect,ifoneconsidersthatnonassociativealgebraisnotaspecially
beautifulbranchofmathematics,andisnotconnectedwithaninterestingtransformation
theory.Iwouldsuggest,asamorehopefullookingideaforgettinganimprovedquantum
theory,thatonetakeasbasisthetheoryoffunctionsofacomplexvariable.Thisbranchof
mathematicsisofexceptionalbeauty,andfurther,thegroupoftransformationsinthe
complexplane,isthesameastheLorentzgroupgoverningthespacetimeofrestricted
relativity.Oneisthusledtosuspecttheexistenceofsomedeeplyingconnectionbetweenthe
theoryoffunctionsofacomplexvariableandthespacetimeofrestrictedrelativity,the
workingoutofwhichwillbeadifficulttaskforthefuture.
LetusnowdiscusstheextentofthemathematicalqualityinNature.Accordingtothe
mechanisticschemeofphysicsortoitsrelativisticmodification,oneneedsforthecomplete
descriptionoftheuniversenotmerelyacompletesystemofequationsofmotion,butalsoa
completesetofinitialconditions,anditisonlytotheformerofthesethatmathematical
theoriesapply.Thelatterareconsideredtobenotamenabletotheoreticaltreatmentandtobe
determinableonlyfromobservation.
Theenormouscomplexityoftheuniverseisascribedtoanenormouscomplexityinthe
initialconditions,whichremovesthembeyondtherangeofmathematicaldiscussion.
Ifindthispositionveryunsatisfactoryphilosophically,asitgoesagainstallideasoftheunity
ofNature.Anyhow,ifitisonlytoapartofthedescriptionoftheuniversethatmathematical
theoryapplies,thispartoughtcertainlytobesharplydistinguishedfromtheremainder.But
infacttheredoesnotseemtobeanynaturalplaceinwhichtodrawtheline.Aresuchthings
asthepropertiesoftheelementaryparticlesofphysics,theirmassesandthenumerical
coefficientsoccurringintheirlawsofforce,subjecttomathematicaltheory?Accordingto
thenarrowmechanisticview,theyshouldbecountedasinitialconditionsandoutside
mathematicaltheory.However,sincetheelementaryparticlesallbelongtooneorotherofa
numberofdefinitetypes,themembersofonetypebeingallexactlysimilar,theymustbe
governedbymathematicallawtosomeextent,andmostphysicistsnowconsiderittobe
quitealargeextent.Forexample,Eddingtonhasbeenbuildingupatheorytoaccountforthe
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masses.Butevenifonesupposedallthepropertiesoftheelementaryparticlestobe
determinablebytheory,onewouldstillnotknowwheretodrawtheline,asonewouldbe
facedbythenextquestionAretherelativeabundancesofthevariouschemicalelements
determinablebytheory?Onewouldpassgraduallyfromatomictoastronomicquestions.
Thisunsatisfactorysituationgetschangedfortheworsebythenewquantummechanics.In
spiteofthegreatanalogybetweenquantummechanicsandtheoldermechanicswithregard
totheirmathematicalformalisms,theydifferdrasticallywithregardtothenatureoftheir
physicalconsequences.Accordingtotheoldermechanics,theresultofanyobservationis
determinateandcanbecalculatedtheoreticallyfromgiveninitialconditionsbutwith
quantummechanicsthereisusuallyanindeterminacyintheresultofanobservation,
connectedwiththepossibilityofoccurrenceofaquantumjump,andthemostthatcanbe
calculatedtheoreticallyistheprobabilityofanyparticularresultbeingobtained.The
question,whichparticularresultwillbeobtainedinsomeparticularcase,liesoutsidethe
theory.Thismustnotbeattributedtoanincompletenessofthetheory,butisessentialforthe
applicationofaformalismofthekindusedbyquantummechanics.
Thusaccordingtoquantummechanicsweneed,foracompletedescriptionoftheuniverse,
notonlythelawsofmotionandtheinitialconditions,butalsoinformationaboutwhich
quantumjumpoccursineachcasewhenaquantumjumpdoesoccur.Thelatterinformation
mustbeincluded,togetherwiththeinitialconditions,inthatpartofthedescriptionofthe
universeoutsidemathematicaltheory.
Theincreasethusarisinginthenonmathematicalpartofthedescriptionoftheuniverse
providesaphilosophicalobjectiontoquantummechanics,andis,Ibelieve,theunderlying
reasonwhysomephysicistsstillfinditdifficulttoacceptthismechanics.Quantum
mechanicsshouldnotbeabandoned,however,firstly,becauseofitsverywidespreadand
detailedagreementwithexperiment,andsecondly,becausetheindeterminacyitintroduces
intotheresultsofobservationsisofakindwhichisphilosophicallysatisfying,beingreadily
ascribabletoaninescapablecrudenessinthemeansofobservationavailableforsmallscale
experiments.Theobjectiondoesshow,allthesame,thatthefoundationsofphysicsarestill
farfromtheirfinalform.
Wecomenowtothethirdgreatdevelopmentofphysicalscienceofthepresentcenturythe
newcosmology.Thiswillprobablyturnouttobephilosophicallyevenmorerevolutionary
thanrelativityorthequantumtheory,althoughatpresentonecanhardlyrealizeitsfull
implications.Thestartingpointistheobservedredshiftinthespectraofdistanceheavenly
bodies,indicatingthattheyarerecedingfromuswithvelocitiesproportionaltotheir
distances.*Thevelocitiesofthemoredistantonesaresoenormousthatitisevidentwehave
hereafactoftheutmostimportance,notatemporaryorlocalcondition,butsomething
fundamentalforourpictureoftheuniverse.
Ifwegobackwardsintothepastwecometoatime,about2x109yearsago,whenallthe
matterintheuniversewasconcentratedinaverysmallvolume.Itseemsasthough
somethinglikeanexplosionthentookplace,thefragmentsofwhichwenowobservestill
scatteringoutwards.ThispicturehasbeenelaboratedbyLematre,whoconsidersthe
universetohavestartedasasingleveryheavyatom,whichunderwentviolentradioactive
disintegrationsandsobrokeupintothepresentcollectionofastronomicalbodies,atthe
sametimegivingoffthecosmicrays.
Withthiskindofcosmologicalpictureoneisledtosupposethattherewasabeginningof
time,andthatitismeaninglesstoinquireintowhathappenedbeforethen.Onecangeta
roughideaofthegeometricalrelationshipsthisinvolvesbyimaginingthepresenttobethe
surfaceofasphere,goingintothepasttobegoingintowardsthecentreofthesphere,and
goingintothefuturetobegoingoutwards.Thereisthennolimittohowfaronemaygointo
thefuture,butthereisalimittohowfaronecangointothepast,correspondingtowhenone
hasreachedthecentreofthesphere.Thebeginningoftimeprovidesanaturaloriginfrom
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whichtomeasurethetimeofanyevent.Theresultisusuallycalledtheepochofthatevent.
Thusthepresentepochis2x109years.
Letusnowreturntodynamicalquestions.Withthenewcosmologytheuniversemusthave
beenstartedoffinsomeverysimpleway.What,then,becomesoftheinitialconditions
requiredbydynamicaltheory?Plainlytherecannotbeany,ortheymustbetrivial.Weare
leftinasituationwhichwouldbeuntenablewiththeoldmechanics.Iftheuniversewere
simplythemotionwhichfollowsfromagivenschemeofequationsofmotionwithtrivial
initialconditions,itcouldnotcontainthecomplexityweobserve.Quantummechanics
providesanescapefromthedifficulty.Itenablesustoascribethecomplexitytothequantum
jumps,lyingoutsidetheschemeofequationsofmotion.Thequantumjumpsnowformthe
uncalculablepartofnaturalphenomena,toreplacetheinitialconditionsoftheold
mechanisticview.
Onefurtherpointinconnectionwiththenewcosmologyisworthyofnote.Atthebeginning
oftimethelawsofNaturewereprobablyverydifferentfromwhattheyarenow.Thuswe
shouldconsiderthelawsofNatureascontinuallychangingwiththeepoch,insteadofas
holdinguniformlythroughoutspacetime.ThisideawasfirstputforwardbyMilne,who
workeditoutontheassumptionsthattheuniverseatagivenepochisroughlyeverywhere
uniformandsphericallysymmetrical.Ifindtheseassumptionsnotverysatisfying,because
thelocaldeparturesfromuniformityaresogreatandareofsuchessentialimportanceforour
worldoflifethatitseemsunlikelythereshouldbeaprincipleofuniformityoverlyingthem.
Further,aswealreadyhavethelawsofNaturedependingontheepoch,weshouldexpect
themalsotodependonpositioninspace,inordertopreservethebeautifulideaofthetheory
ofrelativitythereisfundamentalsimilaritybetweenspaceandtime.Thisgoesmore
drasticallyagainstMilne'sassumptionsthanamerelackofuniformityinthedistributionof
matter.
Wehavefollowedthroughthemaincourseofthedevelopmentoftherelationbetween
mathematicsandphysicsuptothepresenttime,andhavereachedastagewhereitbecomes
interestingtoindulgeinspeculationsaboutthefuture.Therehasalwaysbeenan
unsatisfactoryfeatureintherelation,namely,thelimitationintheextenttowhich
mathematicaltheoryappliestoadescriptionofthephysicaluniverse.Theparttowhichit
doesnotapplyhassufferedanincreasewiththearrivalofquantummechanicsanda
decreasewiththearrivalofthenewcosmology,buthasalwaysremained.
ThisfeatureissounsatisfactorythatIthinkitsafetopredictitwilldisappearinthefuture,in
spiteofthestartlingchangesinourordinaryideastowhichweshouldthenbeled.Itwould
meantheexistenceofaschemeinwhichthewholeofthedescriptionoftheuniversehasits
mathematicalcounterpart,andwemustsupposethatapersonwithacompleteknowledgeof
mathematicscoulddeduce,notonlyastronomicaldata,butalsoallthehistoricaleventsthat
takeplaceintheworld,eventhemosttrivialones.Ofcourse,itmustbebeyondhuman
poweractuallytomakethesedeductions,sincelifeasweknowitwouldbeimpossibleifone
couldcalculatefutureevents,butthemethodsofmakingthemwouldhavetobewell
defined.Theschemecouldnotbesubjecttotheprincipleofsimplicitysinceitwouldhaveto
beextremelycomplicated,butitmaywellbesubjecttotheprincipleofmathematicalbeauty.
Iwouldliketoputforwardasuggestionastohowsuchaschememightberealized.Ifwe
expressthepresentepoch,2x109years,intermsofaunitoftimedefinedbytheatomic
constants,wegetanumberoftheorder1039,whichcharacterizesthepresentinanabsolute
sense.Mightitnotbethatallpresenteventscorrespondtopropertiesofthislargenumber,
and,moregenerally,thatthewholehistoryoftheuniversecorrespondstopropertiesofthe
wholesequenceofnaturalnumbers?Atfirstsightitwouldseemthattheuniverseisfartoo
complexforsuchacorrespondencetobepossible.ButIthinkthisobjectioncannotbe
maintained,sinceanumberoftheorder1039isexcessivelycomplicated,justbecauseitisso
enormous.Wehaveabriefwayofwritingitdown,butthisshouldnotblindustothefact
thatitmusthaveexcessivlycomplicatedproperties.
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ThereisthusapossibilitythattheancientdreamofphilosopherstoconnectallNaturewith
thepropertiesofwholenumberswillsomedayberealized.Todosophysicswillhaveto
developalongwaytoestablishthedetailsofhowthecorrespondenceistobemade.One
hintforthisdevelopmentseemsprettyobvious,namely,thestudyofwholenumbersin
modernmathematicsisinextricablyboundupwiththetheoryoffunctionsofacomplex
variable,whichtheorywehavealreadyseenhasagoodchanceofformingthebasisofthe
physicsofthefuture.Theworkingoutofthisideawouldleadtoaconnectionbetween
atomictheoryandcosmology.
*Therecessionvelocitiesarenotstrictlyproved,sinceonemaypostulatesomeothercause
forthespectralredshift.However,thenewcausewouldpresumablybeequallydrasticinits
effectoncosmologicaltheoryandwouldstillneedtheintroductionofaparameterofthe
order2x109yearsforitsmathematicaldiscussion,soitwouldprobablynotdisturbthe
essentialideasoftheargumentinthetext.

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