PBS
Why Quantum Information is Never Destroyed
If you have perfect knowledge of every single particle in the universe, can you use the laws of physics to rewind all the way back to the Big Bang? Is the entire history of the universe perfectly knowable? Or has information somehow lost...
PBS
Anti-gravity and the True Nature of Dark Energy
We've come a long way in our understanding of dark energy. In previous episodes we've looked at how our universe is paradoxically flat and how dark energy is exponentially accelerating the expansion of the universe. Now, let's dive into...
PBS
Hacking at Quantum Speed with Shor's Algorithm
Classical computers struggle to crack modern encryption. But quantum computers using Shor's Algorithm make short work of RSA cryptography. Find out how.
PBS
Are the Fundamental Constants Changing?
The laws of physics are the same everywhere in the universe. At least we astrophysicists hope so. After all, it's hard to unravel the complexities of distant parts of the universe if we don't know the basic rules. But what if this is...
PBS
Noether's Theorem and The Symmetries of Reality
Conservation laws are among the most important tools in physics. They feel as fundamental as you can get. And yet they're wrong - or at least they're only right sometimes. These laws are consequences of a much deeper, more fundamental...
PBS
Anti-Matter and Quantum Relativity
Paul Dirac's insights into the nature of Quantum Mechanics laid the foundation for Quantum Field Theory and predicted the existence of anti-matter. Part 1 in our series on Quantum Field Theory.
PBS
Hawking Radiation
It's the most famous prediction of perhaps the most famous genius of our time ... Stephen Hawking's theory of Hawking Radiation.
PBS
Zero-Point Energy Demystified
Let's talk about the mysterious zero-point energy and what it really can, and really can't do.
PBS
What are Numbers Made of?
In the physical world, many seemingly basic things turn out to be built from even more basic things. Molecules are made of atoms, atoms are made of protons, neutrons, and electrons. So what are numbers made of?
PBS
Martian Evolution
What will become of humanity after spend a few hundred years on Mars? What will happen after a few thousand? Evolution has, and still is, shaping humanity in rather drastic ways. How long will humans stop being human and become Martian?
PBS
The Phantom Singularity
Isaac Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation tells us that there is a singularity to be found within a black hole, but scientists and mathematicians have found a number of issues with Newton's equations. They don't always accurately...
PBS
The Future of Space Telescopes
The Kepler mission has determined that terrestrial planets are extremely common, and may orbit most stars in the Milky Way. But these planets are difficult to directly image because they're dense and small. Our Sun is about ten billion...
PBS
What a Dinosaur Looks Like Under a Microscope
We traveled to Bozeman, Montana to meet with Dr. Ellen-Therese Lamm who explores ancient life by studying it at the cellular level. Kallie and Dr. Lamm discuss how she does this, and what she's learned by putting dinosaur bones under a...
PBS
The One-Electron Universe
Could it be that all the electrons in the universe are simply one, single electron moving back and forth through time?
PBS
The Nature of Nothing
It turns out that "nothing" is one of the most interesting somethings in all of physics.
PBS
When Pi is Not 3.14
You've always been told that pi is 3.14. This is true, but this number is based on how we measure distance. Find out what happens to pi when we change the way we measure distance.
PBS
First Detection of Life
In 1990, an experiment conceived by Carl Sagan was performed using using the Galileo spacecraft. The purpose? To detect life on a planet based on measurements by a space probe. The experiment was successful, and abundant life was...
PBS
How to Build a Blackhole
Black holes have mystified physicists for decades, but with the help of quantum mechanics, we are beginning to make serious progress in understanding these strange objects. This week on Space Time, Matt dives deeper into the physical...
PBS
The Mathematics of Quantum Computers
What is the math behind quantum computers? And why are quantum computers so amazing? Find out on this episode of Infinite Series.
PBS
The Unruh Effect
Worried about black holes? Consider this: Every time you accelerate - you generate an event horizon behind you. The more you accelerate away from it the closer it gets. Don't worry, it can never catch up to you, but the Unruh radiation...
PBS
Did Dark Energy Just Disappear?
Why are we talking about dark energy again? Because another team has just announced a new analysis of updated supernova data. They claim that the data are consistent with there being NO dark energy - no accelerating expansion. They...
PBS
Arrow's Impossibility Theorem
The bizarre Arrow's Impossibility Theorem, or Arrow's Paradox, shows a counterintuitive relationship between fair voting procedures and dictatorships.
PBS
The Higgs Mechanism Explained
Quantum Field Theory is generally accepted as an accurate description of the subatomic universe. However until recently this theory had one giant hole in it. The particles it describes had no mass!