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Coronation in Physics: String Theory and the Pursuit of the Theory of Everything
(Rabbi Myer and Dorothy Kripke Center, 2022-05-03) Brent Yergensen
This study examines the popularization of string theory in science literature and documentary film, which is presented to audiences with emphasis on the irreconcilability of two key paradigms in physics, quantum mechanics and general relativity, enabling the crowning of string theory as the long-sought “theory of everything.” As string theory is presented as physics’ final theory, a metaphysical rather than empirically based description of the cosmos, its writers draw upon heroic and religious language, and employ descriptions of prophesies of string particles, battling criticism of the theory, and finally a coronation and sainthood identity as the field of physics finally finds its theory of everything. Keywords: religion, science, rhetoric, metaphor, literature