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Quantum Physics
Yes, "the laws of physics break down" at singularities. But relativity itself would have to be wrong for black holes to not possess them.
In physics, we reduce things to their elementary, fundamental components, and build emergent things out of them. That's not the full story.
Contrary to common experience, not everything needs a medium to travel through. Overcoming that assumption removes the need for an aether.
1hr 16mins
NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller makes the case that quantum entanglement may be the underlying fabric from which spacetime itself emerges.
We have two descriptions of the Universe that work perfectly well: general relativity and quantum physics. Too bad they don't work together.
13mins
Jim Al-Khalili introduces the technologies emerging from the second quantum revolution.
Quantum entanglement links information between particles across space and time. So what happens when one of them falls into a black hole?
A century ago, quantum physics overthrew our view of a deterministic Universe. A profound 21st century theorem closes the door even further.
Two main contributors enabled our modern global positioning system (GPS): Albert Einstein and Gladys West. Here's how she made it happen.
The very word "quantum" makes people's imaginations run wild. But chances are you've fallen for at least one of these myths.
Perhaps the most remarkable fact about the Universe is simply that it, and everything in it, exists. But what's the reason why?
23mins
"Could black holes be the key to a quantum theory of gravity, a deeper theory of how reality, of how space and time works? Well, I think so."
With several seemingly incompatible observations, cosmology faces many puzzles. Could early, supermassive stars be the unified solution?
When you don't have enough clues to bring your detective story to a close, you should expect that your educated guesses will all be wrong.
There could be variables beyond the ones we've identified and know how to measure. But they can't get rid of quantum weirdness.
A next-generation collider is required for studying particle physics at the frontiers. Here's the fastest, cheapest way to get it done.
1hr 8mins
“An equation, perhaps no more than one inch long, that would allow us to, quote, 'Read the mind of God.'”
The conversation you're having with an LLM about groundbreaking new ideas in theoretical physics is completely meritless. Here's why.
Realizing that matter and energy are quantized is important, but quantum particles aren't the full story; quantum fields are needed, too.
With the right material at the right temperature and a magnetic track, physics really does allow perpetual motion without energy loss.
Can the top quark, the shortest-lived particle of all, bind with anything else? Yes it can! New results at the LHC demonstrate toponium exists.
1hr 19mins
“We don't have enough knowledge to precisely calculate what is going to happen, and so we assign probabilities to it, which reflects our ignorance of the situation.”
Many, from neuroscientists to philosophers to anesthesiologists, have claimed to understand consciousness. Do physicists? Does anyone?
There are limits to where physics makes meaningful predictions: beyond the Planck length, time, or energy. Here's why we can't go further.
Empty space itself, the quantum vacuum, could be in either a true, stable state or a false, unstable state. Our fate depends on the answer.
22mins
"Quantum mechanics and quantum entanglement are becoming very real. We're beginning to be able to access this tremendously complicated configuration space to do useful things."
Over a century after we first unlocked the secrets of the quantum universe, people find it more puzzling than ever. Can we make sense of it?
There are some 26 fundamental constants in nature, and their values enable our Universe to exist as it does. But where do they come from?
Cosmic inflation, proposed back in 1980, is a theory that precedes and sets up the hot Big Bang. After thorough testing, is it still valid?
The electromagnetic force can be attractive, repulsive, or "bendy," but is always mediated by the photon. How does one particle do it all?