The meaning of unsolved problems is – the developed theories and models are incapable to explain some ongoing phenomenon or science experiments are not able to rectify the concerned phenomena.
The following table illustrates the major unsolved problems in physics −
Quantum Physics | |
Is there a single possible past? | |
Is the present time physically distinct from the past and future? | |
How is quantum information stored as a state of a quantum system? | |
Cosmology | |
Is there any feasibility to reconcile time with general relativity? | |
Why is the distant universe so homogeneous when the Big Bang theory appears to predict larger measurable anisotropies of the night sky than the observed one? | |
Is the universe heading towards a Big Freeze, a Big Crunch, a Big Rip, or a Big Bounce? | |
What is the size of the whole universe? | |
What is the identity of dark matter? | |
What is the probable cause of the observed accelerated expansion of the universe? | |
Black holes | Is there any way to probe the internal structure of black holes somehow? |
Extra dimensions | Does nature have any fifth space time dimensions? |
Particle physics | |
Is the proton fundamentally stable? | |
Did particles that carry "magnetic charge" exist in the past? | |
What is the electric charge radius of the proton? | |
How does electric charge differ from gluonic charge? | |
Astrophysics | |
How does the Sun generate its periodically reversing large-scale magnetic field? | |
Why & how is the Sun's corona (i.e. atmosphere layer) much hotter than the Sun's surface? | |
What is responsible for the numerous interstellar absorption lines discovered in astronomical spectra? | |
What is the origin of the M-sigma relation between the supermassive black hole mass and the galaxy velocity dispersion? | |
What is the precise mechanism by which an implosion of a dying star becomes an explosion? | |
What is the source of space roar? | |
Where did Earth's water come from? | |
What is the nature of neutron stars and dense nuclear matter? | |
What is the origin of the elements in the cosmos? | |
Optical physics | What is the momentum of light in optical media? |
Biophysics | |
How do genes govern human body, withstanding different external pressures and internal stochasticity? | |
What are the quantitative properties of immune responses? | |
What are the basic building blocks of immune system networks? | |
Condensed matter physics | |
Is topological order stable at non-zero temperature? | |
Is it feasible to develop a theoretical model to describe the statistics of a turbulent flow? | |
What causes the emission of short bursts of light from imploding bubbles in a liquid when excited by sound? | |
What is the nature of the glass transition between a fluid or regular solid and a glassy phase? | |
What is the mechanism that causes certain materials to exhibit superconductivity at temperatures much higher than around 25 kelvin? | |
Is it possible to make a material that is a superconductor at room temperature? |