The Big Bang is the leading explanation about how the universe began 13.8 billion years ago from a primordial dense and hot singularity
The Big Bang is the leading explanation about how the universe began 13.8 billion years ago from a primordial dense and hot singularity

Cosmic Queries – Multiverses & Wormholes with Brian Cox

Pablo Carlos Budassi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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About This Episode

What properties are fundamental to the universe? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice take a deep dive into multiverses, inflation theory, wormholes, and quantum entanglement with particle physicist Brian Cox.

How different would the universe be if gravity were stronger? We explore what adjusting fundamental properties of nature would do and if the universe would even be able to form. What happens to the luminosity of a star when you change the gravitational constant? What is luminosity? Learn about Brian’s multi-city tour Horizons where he explores questions of the universe. 

Is it possible that the laws of physics could be different beyond this universe? Are there galaxies beyond our horizon? We discuss the theory of internal inflation and bubble universes and how other universes could be different from our own. What is the underlying law of our universe? We break down string theory, quantum mechanics, and the many ways we could’ve arrived at the universe we now have. Can you really time travel through wormholes? 

Are there microscopic wormholes? Find out what Albert Einstein, Nathon Rosen, and Kip Thorne all thought of wormholes. If there were permitted time travel would that mean there is no free will? Brian spoils the movie Interstellar and we learn about quantum entanglement. Could space and time be derived from something deeper? Could it be that entanglement is the fundamental thing that produced space? Is there an edge of the universe? How far are we from it? Just like an electron microscope, could we make a quark microscope to see things seven smaller? Could we someday see the strings from string theory?

Thanks to our Patrons Tony Thompson, Kevin the Sommelier, Verne Thomas Inman, PhD, Claudio Carletti, James Weldon, Satoshi Watanabe, Keegan Matthews, Sandy Moir, Jim Flatt, and Mason Grogan for supporting us this week.

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