What We Don't Know
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What We Don't Know
‘What We Don’t Know’ is a podcast series that explores the boundaries of human knowledge, investigating the unanswered questions and theories that unravel them at the frontiers of science. During this podcast I hope to get you interested in new areas of science, maths and technology, teaching you ab...
Nýlegir þættir
14 þættir
Core of a neutron star
Neutron stars are one of the most extreme astronomical objects in the universe. They are so dense that a single teaspoon, if you were strong enough to...
The fifth state of matter: Bose-Einstein condensates
Very early in our school career, we learn about the states of matter. This table is hard wood - it's solid. This water flows, we can drink it - it’s a...
The Cambrian explosion
We often use the phrase ‘it’s the end of an era’ to signify some great change in our lives, like leaving school forever. But actual eras are far, far...
Black hole information paradox (part one)
Different areas of physics seem to be incompatible inside black holes. When combining general relativity, thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, you ge...
Black hole information paradox (part two)
When particles escape from a black hole via Hawking radiation, they only contain information on the mass, spin and charge of the black hole’s original...
Consciousness
What is consciousness? Who experiences it? Why? How?
In this episode, I will first offer a definition of consciousness and consider the a...
Dark matter
What is dark matter? Why do we need it, and how can we find it? Dark matter is notorious for how it evades detection, and its presence is one of the b...
Protein folding
This episode is about protein folding, specifically the protein folding problem that has pervaded biochemistry since 1960, when the first atomic-resol...
P vs NP problem
In this episode I’ll discuss one of the most important problems in computing: the P versus NP problem. This is one of the seven Millennium Prize Probl...
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)
This episode is a bit different to the previous ones because neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have treatments, so their biology is not beyond the ho...
Quantum entanglement
This episode I will explore quantum entanglement. Quantum entanglement is itself not unknown – many experiments have proven it a pillar of the quantum...
Quantum gravity
This episode I’ll be exploring one of the greatest mysteries in physics: the incompatibility of general relativity and quantum mechanics. Einstein ass...
Origins of the nucleus
Today I’m talking about the origin of the nucleus. All cells have organelles, which are like the
organs of a cell, specialised subunits that ca...
Silicon-based life
Today we’re talking about the concept of silicon-based life. This is the idea that, instead of carbon being the only building block upon which life ha...