If we discover how to connect quantum mechanics with general relativity we’ll pretty much win physics. There are multiple theories that claim to do this, but it’s notoriously difficult to test them. They seem to require absurd...

Dark matter's most famous trait is its inability to interact with light, the particle version of which we call "photons". But in their attempts to figure out exactly what dark matter is, some scientists have proposed "dark photons".

Dark Matter is the most abundant form of matter in the known universe, so what's keeping it from forming into planets?

The Fine Structure Constant is one the strangest numbers in all of physics. It’s the job of physicists to worry about numbers, but there’s one number that physicists have stressed about more than any other. That number is 0.00729735256 -...

By the time you've read this, a billion billion dark matter particles may have streamed through your body like ghosts. The particle or particles of the dark sector make up the vast majority of the mass of the universe - so to them, we're...

You often hear of brilliant scientific discoveries that took decades to become recognized, often by scientists too smart for their time! Join Hank and look back on a few of our episodes about scientists who deserve a little more...

It turns out that "nothing" is one of the most interesting somethings in all of physics.

The quantum world is weird. Today we're looking at a strange particle called a glueball that contains no matter...they're made of pure force!

Physicist Brian Greene explains superstring theory, the idea that minscule strands of energy vibrating in 11 dimensions create every particle and force in the universe.

If you were to take a coffee cup, and break it in half, then in half again, and keep carrying on, where would you end up? Could you keep on going forever? Or would you eventually find a set of indivisible building blocks out of which...

It’s usually not a great idea to break laws, but breaking the laws of science is an exception! In fact, it’s often how we make progress.

Like positive and negative, or debit and credit, matter and antimatter are equal and opposite. So if matter falls down, does antimatter fall up? Chloe Malbrunot investigates that question by placing two atoms - one made of matter, and...

"Rock-star physicist" Brian Cox talks about his work on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Discussing the biggest of big science in an engaging, accessible way, Cox brings us along on a tour of the massive project.

In this video Paul Andersen explains how electromagnetic forces are exerted over all scales and dominate at the human scale. The magnitude of electromagnetic forces vary with the magnitude and motion of the electric charges involved.

Our fundamental picture of the universe seems pretty nearly complete these days, to the point that some people are suggesting that we’ve arrived at some version of “the end of physics.” And sure, physics is at a turning point, but it...

In this video Paul Andersen explains how gravitational forces differ from the other three fundamental forces; electromagnetic, strong, and weak. Gravitational forces are always attractive and operate at all scales. Even though...

Mr. Andersen contrasts nuclear reactions to chemical reactions. He explains the four main forces of nature; including gravity, electromagnetism, strong, and weak nuclear forces. He also explains how fusion differs from fission.

Saturn’s rings, colored photography, and the discovery of electromagnetic waves all have have one thing in common. James Clerk Maxwell. Discover for yourself all the amazing contributions Maxwell made to science.

Paul Andersen explains three major nuclear processes; fusion, fission, and decay. He begins with a brief discussion of the four fundamental forces in nature. He the explains how nuclei can be combined in fusion, divided through...

Take some time with us to look back on a few of our episodes about scientists who deserve a little more recognition than they got.

How does a force between particles work? What causes an attraction or repulsion? Why does electromagnetism and gravity have infinite range, but the strong and weak force have a small range? Quantum chromodynamics...

What is the purpose of light? How does light work? Why does Light exist? There had been a controversy about whether light was particles or waves. Albert Einstein showed that light must come in discrete packets of...

“Do photons have mass?” in most textbooks, the answer is no. But is it proven that light does not have any mass? Has anyone every actually confirmed this in a measurement? No.



Einstein’s theory of...

This constant represented by the Greek letter alpha is just a dimensionless number, so no matter what units you use, it will always have the same value, about 1/137. If it was different by just 4%, life may not...