Things You Thought You Knew – Quantum Cat

About This Episode

What happens when you fall into a black hole? Neil deGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice give us the step-by-step on spaghettification, explain Schrodinger’s cat, and explore quantum tunnelling… Or do they?

What happens when you fall into a black hole? We explore tidal forces and the difference in gravity between your head and your feet. What happens when the tidal forces keep getting greater and greater? Is a black hole actually like a medieval torture device? Finally, find out what it’s like to get extruded through the fabric of spacetime. Plus, some of Neil’s poetry. Soup’s up: It’s cosmic spaghetti time!

What is Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment? Learn about famous physicist Erwin Schrödinger and his work with quantum mechanics. What is the Observer Effect? We debunk some misconceptions about the Observer Effect and break down what starts to go wrong when doing experiments with the really really small. Discover quantum cats in boxes and quantum computing. What is superposition? Can something be two things at once? What is a Qubit? Explore the mystery of the quantum realm with us…

What is quantum tunnelling? We dive into quantum physics, thermonuclear fusion, and when quantum particles start misbehaving. What is the least energy to get to the other side of a hill? A little hint: the answer isn’t “Running Up That Hill.” Learn about wave functions, potential barriers, and quantum wedding crashing. What would it take to merge two hydrogen atoms to make helium? We get into electromagnetic repulsion, thermonuclear fusion, and what temperature hydrogen atoms need to be in order to come together. How do stars get these atoms to join? What percent of atom collisions will tunnel? Plus, would we exist without quantum tunnelling?

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