Today, one of the major goals of particle physics is to unify the various fundamental forces in a Grand Unified Theory which could offer a more elegant understanding of the organization of the universe. Such a simplification of the Standard Model might well help to answer our questions and point toward future areas of study.

James Maxwell took a big step toward this goal when he unified electricity and magnetism, and physicists now understand that at high energies the electromagnetic and weak forces are aspects of the same force.

In his later years Einstein attempted, but failed, to write a theory which united gravity and electricity.