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A theoretical framework proposing that the laws of physics are fundamentally expressions of symmetry—that what we call "laws" are actually descriptions of what remains invariant under various transformations. Symmetry principles—translational symmetry (the laws are the same everywhere), rotational symmetry (the laws are the same in every direction), time symmetry (the laws are the same at every moment), gauge symmetry (the laws are unchanged by certain mathematical transformations)—may be more fundamental than the laws themselves. This theory suggests that finding new symmetries reveals new physics, and that symmetry breaking (when symmetrical states become asymmetrical) explains how the universe's current structure emerged from a more symmetrical early state. The theory of symmetry reveals that physics is the study of what doesn't change—the eternal patterns beneath the flux of phenomena.
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