Are we nearly there yet?

The article focuses on the theory of everything which is meant to explain all the particles and forces of nature. It should reveal, for example, why nuclear forces are strong enough to clamp protons and neutrons together, and why there are exactly three kinds of electron. It should set the constants of nature in stone, and explain the origin of time and space. Thirty years have passed since physicists established the "standard model" of particle physics, a set of limited theories that cover the basics of how particles and forces interact. Since then, they have been trying to weave these separate strands into a single fundamental theory. INSETS: Bright ideas;Taming the multiverse.