Quantum Anomalies with Lara Anderson

About This Episode

Why does string theory need ten dimensions? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Jordan Klepper sit down with Lara Anderson, string theorist and associate professor of physics at Virginia Tech, to tackle intersecting dimensions, the nature of gravity, and a unified field theory.

What are the physics beyond the Higgs Boson? We discuss the problem of quantum gravity and whether string theory will solve it. Is a unified field theory too hard for our species, or are we just not smart enough yet? What exactly is a string? How can a one-dimensional object vibrate without intersecting other dimensions? Lara walks through world sheets, membranes, closed string loops, and why the math indicates higher dimensions. We discuss how to visualize other dimensions.

Could a higher-dimensional object intersecting our spacetime appear as a black hole? Why is gravity forty orders of magnitude weaker than every other force? Could it be leaking into extra dimensions? Could dark matter be ordinary matter spilling out of other dimensions into ours? What are quantum anomalies, and why do they only cancel out when string theory operates in exactly ten dimensions?

We discuss celestial holography and whether everything in the universe is encoded on a 2D boundary. We explore the nature of time in a universe if nothing is repeated, whether dimensions are objective features of reality or just organizing constructs, and why you can never get rid of probabilities in quantum physics, even with hidden variables. Keep Looking Up!

Thanks to our Patrons Robin Billings, PhD, Christine Sizemore, Aine DeMoss, Crispy Wisp, Branden Rucker, Rowena Smith, Cory Strauss, Aubrey Etheridge, Aldarien, Philip Arno, Daniel, Kendall Rohach, ChiliPepper, Jim Phelan, Lonnie Draper, Ryan Stanley, Ziad Farhat, Idan Cohen Epstein, Marie Lauzon, Eduardo Larranaga, Dr. DJ Kehoe, Mike Greer, Karen Henton, Pixi, Kari, Mandy, That Geezer, Victor T, Susanne Otero, Dingus Fringus, Jean, Barrie Parkman, Nathaniel Naranjo, Agentm0o, Jason Adair, MJ Jamal, Gianna Williams, Philip B Stanley, Sarabjit Singh, Chuck, Antonio Macias, Kevin Sayet, Braden Gibson, Toms Grinbergs, Andrew Brodbeck, Mr. Pinky, Adam Prentice, Rich Wilkinson, Frejya of Fòlkvangr, Eric Spray, Ian Ledington, Ilona Freeman, Tarsha Fewell, and SuperKamiGrayson for supporting us this week.

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