Embark on a 32-minute journey exploring the quest for a unified theory of everything in this lecture from The Great Courses. Delve into the incompatibility between the standard model of particle physics and general relativity. Trace the historical development of atomic theory, from Dalton's proof of atoms to Mendeleev's periodic table. Examine the fundamental forces of nature, including electromagnetism, strong and weak forces, and gravity. Explore the building blocks of the Standard Model, such as quarks and leptons. Confront the limitations of general relativity in the subatomic world and grapple with the fact that our current understanding accounts for only about 5% of universal physics.