Science and Nature

PBS Space Time

PBS Space Time explores the outer reaches of space, the craziness of astrophysics, the possibilities of sci-fi, and anything else you can think of beyond Planet Earth. Host Matt O'Dowd breaks down both the basic and incredibly complex sides of space and time.

Can We Test Quantum Gravity?

16m 51s

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. Let’s talk about some ideas for quantum gravity experiments that can be done on a non-galaxy-sized lab bench, and in some cases already have been done.

Episodes

  • Can We Test Quantum Gravity?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Can We Test Quantum Gravity?

    S10 E20 - 16m 51s

    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. Let’s talk about some ideas for quantum gravity experiments that can be done on a non-galaxy-sized lab bench, and in some cases already have been done.

  • Is Gravity RANDOM Not Quantum?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Is Gravity RANDOM Not Quantum?

    S10 E19 - 19m 25s

    The holy grail of theoretical physics is to find the long-sought theory of quantum gravity. But what if this theory is as mythical as the grail of legend? What if gravity isn’t weirdly quantum at all, but rather … just a bit messy? Or random? So says the postquantum gravity hypothesis of Jonathan Oppenheim.

  • Can We Create New Elements Beyond the Periodic Table: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Can We Create New Elements Beyond the Periodic Table

    S10 E18 - 17m 2s

    Scientists have been slowly extending the periodic table one element at a time, pushing to higher and higher masses, and have discovered some incredibly useful materials along the way. But the elements at the current end of the table are so unstable that they decay almost as soon as they’re created in our particle accelerators. Astronomers have found a cosmic phenomenon that may populate table.

  • Do Black Holes Have to Be Black?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Do Black Holes Have to Be Black?

    S10 E17 - 15m 32s

    It turns out there is a way to make a coloured black hole—as long as by colour you mean quantum chromodynamic charge.

  • Was Penrose Right? New Evidence For Quantum Effects In The Brain: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Was Penrose Right? New Evidence For Quantum Effects In The Brain

    S10 E16 - 18m 26s

    Nobel laureate Roger Penrose is widely held to be one of the most brilliant living physicists for his wide-ranging work from black holes to cosmology. And then there’s his idea about how consciousness is caused by quantum processes. Most scientists have dismissed this as a cute eccentricity—a guy like Roger gets to have at least one crazy theory without being demoted from the smartypants club.

  • How To Detect Faster Than Light Travel: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How To Detect Faster Than Light Travel

    S10 E15 - 16m 28s

    Warp drives may or may not be possible, but if they are then could a distant alien civilization’s warp fields produce gravitational waves that we could see here on Earth? According to a recent study.. Actually maybe, at least eventually. And we now know just what to look for and how to look for it.

  • Can a Particle Be Neither Matter Nor Force?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Can a Particle Be Neither Matter Nor Force?

    S10 E14 - 20m 7s

    All particles belong to two large groups: fermions like protons and electrons make everything we consider "matter", while bosons like photons and gluons transmit the fundamental forces. And that about covers the universe: matter moving through space and time under the action of forces. But what if we could create particles in between these two possibilities. Physics says these neither matter nor f

  • What’s The Universe’s Strongest Particle Accelerator?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What’s The Universe’s Strongest Particle Accelerator?

    S10 E11 - 12m 51s

    Cern's Large Hadron Collider routinely collides particles at energies equivalent to a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, but a particle with the energy of an LHC collision hits every square kilometer of the Earth every single second. And we only relatively recently figured out where these cosmic rays are coming from.

  • Can Black Holes Unify General Relativity & Quantum Mechanics?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Can Black Holes Unify General Relativity & Quantum Mechanics?

    S10 E10 - 13m 28s

    Black holes clash in multiple ways with quantum mechanics. One such clash is the black hole information paradox—and a proposed solution—black hole complementarity—may forced us to radically rethink what it even means to say that something to exists.

  • Interstellar Expansion WITHOUT Faster Than Light Travel: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Interstellar Expansion WITHOUT Faster Than Light Travel

    S10 E9 - 20m 15s

    In the far future we may have advanced propulsion technologies, but what if those technologies never materialize? Are we imprisoned by the vastness of space—doomed to remain in the solar system of our origin? Perhaps not. A possible path to a contemporary cosmic dream may just be to build a ship which can support human life for several generations; a so-called generation ship.

Extras + Features

  • Quantum Physics in a Mirror Universe: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Quantum Physics in a Mirror Universe

    S5 - 12m 19s

    When you look in mirror, and see what you think is a perfect reflection, you might be looking at universe whose laws are fundamentally different.

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.

Similar Shows