Cosmic Queries – Quantum & Aliens with Charles Liu

About This Episode

Are we thinking about the fundamentals of the universe wrong? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly answer grab bag questions about aliens, gravitons, and the big unknowns with astrophysicist Charles Liu.

We discuss quantum field theory and string theory. What questions do Neil and Charles want answered during their lifetimes? We explore the Fermi Paradox and the existence of life unlike our own on Earth. Could super-intelligent aliens be encoding signals to look like noise? Plus, would the transferring of mass during time travel cause an explosion?

Could aliens be sending messages right under our nose? Learn how Charles uses AI in the classroom, what a graviton is, and the nature of Hawking radiation. Discover how the universe may be woven out of wormholes. Could the universe be expanding due to suction?

Where is the center of the universe? Are we creating energy or just redistributing it? We talk about where fossil fuels energy comes from, time dilation, and our vantage point in the universe. All that, plus, discover the largest object in the universe.

Thanks to our Patrons Karim Beydoun, Sture Seljelund, Ken Hays, Kasi Kanniah, Dillon, Mandi McKay, and Phillida Hutcheson for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.