A composite image of NGC 3372 based on data from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and NOIRLab. The image is a composite of 48 frames and depicts an area 50 light-years wide. The false color image was created using the following formula: red for sulfur, green for hydrogen, and blue for oxygen emissions.
A composite image of NGC 3372 based on data from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and NOIRLab. The image is a composite of 48 frames and depicts an area 50 light-years wide. The false color image was created using the following formula: red for sulfur, green for hydrogen, and blue for oxygen emissions.

Cosmic Queries – Single Electron Universe with Charles Liu

Hubble image: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)CTIO data: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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About This Episode

Could the universe be composed of a single electron? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly answer grab-bag questions about the multidimensionality of time, quantum chromodynamics, gluons, tachyons, and more with Charles Liu.

Could every electron actually be the same one? Find out why or why not. We discuss Richard Gott, world lines, and the discovery of positrons and antimatter. What is an electron’s relationship to time? Plus, who would Neil most want to be shackled next to in a Spanish Inquisition prison?

Could time itself be multi-dimensional? We talk about unfolding the dimensions, measuring time using an entropy clock, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda. Can you measure a quantum wave field without interacting with gravity? Learn about the insides of atoms and what the quantum particles are doing in there. Discover quantum chromodynamics and the 8 types of gluons. Can dark energy collapse the wave function?

Why do red and blue make violet when it is not between them on the color spectrum? We discuss vision and quantum biology. Do objects have color or does the brain just create it? Why don’t photons go faster than the speed of light? We explore freezing light and when you could speed it up. Are tachyons a viable concept? All that, plus, Neil and Charles share what they think the greatest scientific achievements are.

Thanks to our Patrons Jason Byttow, Keith Bale, Daniel Levin, Multimedia Kart, Renata, CESAR FRADIQUE, Ginger Towers, handzman, Lisa Kohler, and 21Pandas_ for supporting us this week.

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