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The biggest ideas in physics, broken down. Join theoretical physicist Dan Hooper and co-host Shalma Wegsman as they answer your questions about dark matter, black holes, quantum mechanics, and more. Part of The University of Chicago Podcast Network.
74 Episodes
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1Special guest Cari Cesarotti tells us why so many particle physicists are itching to build a whole new type of particle collider.Support the show
The Big Bang is well accepted today as the leading theory of how our universe evolved over time - but in today's episode, we talk through all the very wrong theories that came before it.To get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
Can consciousness be explained by physics, or does it appeal to something beyond materialism? Philosopher guest star David Chalmers talks to us about how we can think about consciousness from a philosophical and scientific perspective.To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
A whirlwind of questions brings us to an odd conclusion: could reality be an illusion created by a quantum fluctuation of a brain? This is a rebroadcast of a past favorite.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
Astronomers' newest telescope, JWST, just discovered galaxies that formed earlier than previously thought possible. What does this discovery mean for our understanding of the early universe?To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
Before the LHC turned on in 2008, many feared that it would create a dangerous black hole that would destroy the world. Were any of those fears well-founded, and how seriously did scientists take these claims?Support the show
Learn how extra dimensions of space might appear to us, and what physicists have done to try to find them.To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
Special guest Katie Mack talks to us about how the universe might end.To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
In today's different type of episode, we talk about the risks of a subtle kind of scientific misinformation.Support the show
This episode will hurt your brain, or your money back.To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
We interrupt our regular episodes to cover the exciting new discovery that the IceCube Neutrino Observatory announced on November 3rd, 2022.To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
We pick up the story of string theory and explore the explosion of interest it experienced in the mid 1980s.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
Last time, we introduced the biggest open problem in theoretical physics - the problem of combining gravity with quantum mechanics. In this first part of a three-part series, we introduce the leading candidate for how to do that: String Theory.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
Quantum mechanics and general relativity are two of the most successful theories of science ever, but they don't necessarily fit together. Learn why physicists are trying so hard to discover a quantum theory of gravity, and why it's been such a challenge.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
We pick up last episode's theme of particle colliders and dive into the most exciting one running today - the LHC. What is it, how does it work, and what new physics can it still reveal?For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
For the past century, physicists have been building particle colliders as a way to learn about the fundamental laws of physics. Today we talk about why smashing particles together has proven to be such a powerful tool.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
On May 12, 2022 astronomers revealed an image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Today we tell the story of what made this image possible.Today's episode is sponsored by Wren. Sign up through https://www.wren.co/universe to make a difference in the climate crisis, and Wren will plant 10 extra trees in your name!For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
Just like water changing to ice when it freezes, there were times in the universe's early history when reality changed in almost an instant. Today we dive into these cosmological phase transitions, and speculate about the strange objects these types of instant changes can create.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
When cosmology was still an infant science, a daring physicist wrote a theory of the beginning of time. We revisit this theory and see what value we can still glean from it today.Support the show
Today we explore different interpretations of quantum mechanics, from Copenhagen to the many-worlds hypothesis, in an attempt to uncover what quantum reality really is. This episode is a rebroadcast of one of our early favorites.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show
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I really enjoyed it. Good job.
awesome👌🏻
For all respects, but I think that it's a nonsense not saying the name James Webb because of him being against LGBTQ community long ago. If I was gay or something I would be mature enough to give a shit for this and I would be quiet grateful for the science that James Webb Space Telescope will bring us.
I've heard that in some cases, gravity is repulsive. How does the shift from attraction to repulsion affect gravitational waves? Is the shift gradual, or sudden?
There's some kind of theater-themed joke in here about exposition and why momentum (what's my motivation), with a punchline like 'because the co-directors were taking the show in different directions', but I'm not quite smart enough to put it together. Love your show, btw! I was just listening to your episode about gravity being a wave in the shape of space. Fascinating! You mentioned that the ripples that would occur if the sun stopped existing would take about 8 mins. to reach Earth. Isn't that also about how long it takes the sun's light to get here? Do gravitational waves and light travel at the same speed? Do gravitational waves I always travel at a constant speed, or are there slower and faster waves? If gravitational waves and light travel at the same speed, how does a black hole pull light in faster than it can escape? Could we have an episode about how gravity and light interact with one another?