{28292}{28384}He was one of the most widely known|and recognizable figures alive.
{28388}{28503}He and perhaps Charlie Chaplin were the|reigning kings of the popular media.
{28507}{28551}People followed his work.
{28555}{28695}And they were anticipating... because of this|wonderful thing he had done with general relativity,
{28699}{28823}this recasting the laws of|gravity out of his head...
{28891}{28911}there was a thought he could do it again,
{28915}{28959}and they, you know, people want to be in on that.
{28963}{29079}Despite all that he had achieved|Einstein wasn't satisfied.
{29083}{29175}He immediately set his sights|on an even grander goal,
{29179}{29295}the unification of his new picture of gravity|with the only other force known at the time,
{29299}{29343}electromagnetism.
{29347}{29510}Now electromagnetism is a force that had itself|been unified only a few decades earlier.
{29514}{29624}In the mid-1800s, electricity and magnetism
{29658}{29750}were sparking scientists' interest.
{29754}{29846}These two forces seemed to|share a curious relationship
{29850}{29990}that inventors like Samuel Morse were|taking advantage of in newfangled devices,
{29994}{30074}such as the telegraph.
{30090}{30230}An electrical pulse sent through a telegraph|wire to a magnet thousands of miles away
{30234}{30326}produced the familiar dots|and dashes of Morse code
{30330}{30470}that allowed messages to be transmitted across|the continent in a fraction of a second.
{30474}{30541}Although the telegraph was a sensation,
{30545}{30689}the fundamental science driving it|remained something of a mystery.
{30761}{30877}But to a Scottish scientist|named James Clark Maxwell,
{30881}{30997}the relationship between electricity and magnetism
{31001}{31127}was so obvious in nature that|it demanded unification.
{31193}{31285}If you've ever been on top of a|mountain during a thunderstorm
{31289}{31429}you'll get the idea of how electricity|and magnetism are closely related.
{31433}{31500}When a stream of electrically|charged particles flows,
{31504}{31572}like in a bolt of lightning,|it creates a magnetic field.
{31576}{31690}And you can see evidence of this on a compass.
{31864}{31908}Obsessed with this relationship,
{31912}{32004}the Scot was determined to explain the connection
{32008}{32148}between electricity and magnetism|in the language of mathematics.
{32152}{32220}Casting new light on the subject,
{32224}{32358}Maxwell devised a set of four|elegant mathematical equations
{32440}{32607}that unified electricity and magnetism in|a single force called "electromagnetism."
{32679}{32747}And like Isaac Newton's before him,
{32751}{32915}Maxwell's unification took science a step|closer to cracking the code of the universe.
{32919}{33083}That was really the remarkable thing, that these|different phenomena were really connected in this way.
{33087}{33275}And it's another example of diverse phenomena coming from a single|underlying building block or a single underlying principle.
{33279}{33392}Imagine that everything that you can think of
{33423}{33467}which has to do with electricity and magnetism
{33471}{33589}can all be written in four very simple equations.
{33614}{33753}Isn't that incredible? Isn't that|amazing? I call that elegant.
{33758}{33898}Einstein thought that this was one of|the triumphant moments of all of physics
{33902}{33994}and admired Maxwell hugely for what he had done.
{33998}{34114}About 50 years after Maxwell|unified electricity and magnetism,
{34118}{34258}Einstein was confident that if he could unify his new|theory of gravity with Maxwell's electromagnetism,
{34262}{34378}he'd be able to formulate a master|equation that could describe everything,
{34382}{34450}the entire universe.
{34454}{34521}Einstein clearly believes
{34525}{34689}that the universe has an overall grand and|beautiful pattern to the way that it works.
{34693}{34785}So to answer your question, why|was he looking for the unification?
{34789}{34929}I think the answer is simply that|Einstein is one of those physicists who
{34933}{34977}really wants to know the mind of God,
{34981}{35074}which means the entire picture.
{35125}{35232}Today, this is the goal of string theory:
{35269}{35374}to unify our understanding of everything
{35389}{35552}from the birth of the universe to the majestic|swirl of galaxies in just one set of principles,
{35556}{35633}one master equation.
{35676}{35816}Newton had unified the heavens and|the earth in a theory of gravity.
{35820}{35934}Maxwell had unified electricity and magnetism.
{35964}{36104}Einstein reasoned all that remained|to build a "Theory of Everything"
{36108}{36200}a single theory that could encompass|all the laws of the universe
{36204}{36296}was to merge his new picture of|gravity with electromagnetism.
{36300}{36368}He certainly had motivation.
{36372}{36464}Probably one of them might have been|aesthetics, or this quest to simplify.
{36468}{36655}Another one might have been just the physical fact that it|seems like the speed of gravity is equal to the speed of light.
{36659}{36703}So if they both go at the same speed,