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Lisa Randall

What Lisa Randall thinks about physics

@lisa-randall · 16 positions · 0 changes of mind

Theoretical physicist and cosmologist, Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University, working on particle physics, extra dimensions and dark matter.

Lisa Randall did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

8 dated positions, 2023, in their own words. Our reading of what Lisa Randall has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingIt is dark matter, not ordinary matter, that drives galaxy formation; ordinary matter just comes along with it.

    Their wordsIn fact, dark matter is in some sense more important because it can collapse more readily than ordinary matter because ordinary matter has radiative forces, which makes it hard to collapse on small scales. Actually it’s dark matter that drives galaxy formation and then ordinary matter comes along with it.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 1st of 16 in this recording

  3. Our readingDark matter need not be one simple thing: a fraction of it may radiate its own dark light and collapse into a thin disk.

    Their wordsThe interesting thing is that if some of the dark matter does radiate, and I like to call it dark light because it’s light that we don’t see, but dark matter would see. It could radiate that and then it could perhaps collapse into a disk the same way ordinary matter collapsed into the Milky Way disk.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 3rd of 16 in this recording

  5. Our readingA far-fetched idea earns its place in physics only when you can go out and look for its observational consequences.

    Their wordsThat’s also why I like the dark disk because there’s a scientific story behind it. As far-fetched as it might sound, you could actually go and look for the experimental consequences, for the observational consequences to test whether it’s true.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 4th of 16 in this recording

  7. Our readingThe Large Hadron Collider is now a very unlikely place to find dark matter; the search has moved underground to xenon detectors.

    Their wordsThat was originally one of the hopes of Large Hadron Collider. I’d say at this point, it would be very unlikely given what they’ve already accomplished, but there are these underground detectors, xenon detectors that look for dark matter coming in, and they are going to try to achieve a much stronger bound than exists today.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 5th of 16 in this recording

  9. Our readingThe Superconducting Supercollider would have been a far more robust test of what lies beyond the standard model than the LHC, which became the only machine in town.

    Their wordsIt’s one of the many factors I think that went into the fact that the Large Hadron Collider became the only machine in town, and the Superconducting Supercollider would’ve just been a much… If it had really had achieved what it was supposed to, would’ve been a much more robust test of the space.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 6th of 16 in this recording

  11. Our readingThere is probably no bottom level of reality we will ever reach; physics will keep penetrating layers without ever arriving at the last one.

    Their wordsI might not seem so, but I think I’m more humble than a lot of physicists. I’m not sure that we’re ever going to get to that bottom level, but I do think we’re going to keep penetrating different layers and get further.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 12th of 16 in this recording

  13. Our readingEinstein's real progress was bottom-up and rooted in measurements; once he decided top-down theorising was the way, he stopped getting anywhere.

    Their wordsAfter that, he thought top-down was the way to go, but he actually didn’t make that much progress. I think it’s naive to think it was just one or the other. In fact, a lot of people who made real progress were rooted in actual measurements.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 13th of 16 in this recording

  15. Our readingString theorists were overly arrogant at the outset, promising to solve problems they were never going to solve.

    Their wordsI do think that string theorists were a bit overly ambitious… Not overly ambitious, but a little bit overly arrogant in the beginning, thinking they could solve many problems that they weren’t going to solve.

    ↗Lisa Randall: Dark Matter, Theoretical Physics, and Extinction Events | Lex Fridman Podcast #403youtube.com 14th of 16 in this recording