Physicist Brian Greene takes you on a visual, conceptual, and mathematical exploration of Einstein’s spectacular insights into space, time, and energy. In just 11.5 hours, using nothing more advanced than high school algebra, journey from Einstein’s earliest musings on the speed of light to his startling realization that time can tick at different rates to his revolutionary discovery of the world’s most famous formula, E = mc^2.
"Join Brian Greene, acclaimed physicist and author, on a wild ride into the mind of Albert Einstein, revealing deep aspects of the world that defy everyday experience. Using a visually rich canvas of animations, Greene leads you through all the startling conclusions of special relativity, from time travel to space warps to E = mc2. In the span of 2+ hours, this short master class will change your conception of reality. This is a mostly non-mathematical version of the WSU Master Class “Special Relativity with Brian Greene.”"
Join mathematician Edward Frenkel as he discusses how the elegant mathematical formulation of symmetry has been used throughout math and physics and could, through the Langlands program, give rise to a grand unified theory of mathematics.
Max Tegmark, cosmologist and Professor of Physics at MIT, delivers a comprehensive look at the study of our universe, examining both the origin of our cosmos and the infinite questions waiting to be answered.
Particle physics is a vibrant field entering into a period of profound discoveries. Nobel Laureate Barry Barish explores particle physics and examines the future of particle accelerators for pushing the limits of physics.
With the discovery of the Higgs particle in 2013, the Standard Model came closer to being a complete theory. Maria Spiropulu, Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology, examines the robustness of the Standard Model, and takes a look at the future of particle physics.
Theoretical cosmologist Michael Turner, who coined the term "dark energy,” explores how the combination of cosmology and particle physics will help us understand the origin and evolution of the universe.
What are scientists looking for when searching for alien life? Could alien life develop in unimaginable ways? Astronomer and the founding director of Harvard’s Origins of Life Initiative Dimitar Sasselov looks outside our solar system to examine the physical and chemical phenomenon of life.
Has neuroscience all but disproved the existence of free will? Philosopher Alfred Mele argues that free will is still alive and well as he critically analyzes experimental data.
Nobel laureate Rai Weiss is best known as one of the original creators of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Join him as he explores the history of this amazing project and the technology that made it a reality.
Nobel laureate Adam Riess walks you through his team’s incredible discovery of dark energy and our accelerating universe. Explore one of the biggest mysteries in modern cosmology.
How can we experimentally probe consciousness? Neuroscientist Christof Koch guides you through the research he conducts at the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
"Gabriela González guides you through the ground-based experiments LIGO uses to search for gravitational waves. Learn about the detection process and what mysteries they hope to solve about our universe. On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory detected a gravitational wave for the first time. Just a few months before this groundbreaking discovery, physicist and former LIGO Scientific Collaboration spokesperson Gabriela González describes how the search for gravitational waves has been conducted and what mysteries scientists hope to solve about our universe."
Cumrun Vafa, together with fellow world-renowned string theorist Andrew Strominger, developed a new way to calculate black hole entropy in the language of string theory. Follow Vafa as he guides you through some of the more incredible things we have learned since string theory’s inception.
On September 14, 2015, the LIGO gravitational wave detectors made the first confirmed detection of a gravitational wave. Join physicist Nergis Mavalvala as she takes you on an incredible journey from LIGO’s humble beginnings to its groundbreaking discovery.
Physicist Justin Khoury explores how quantum effects in dark matter could produce non-Newtonian gravitational force within and between galaxies, ultimately providing a hypothesis for how the observed structure of the universe might have arisen.
Astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan explains the science of supermassive black holes from their birth to how they impact the development of their galaxies. Explore the cutting-edge research being done to better understand these phenomena.
Bioengineer Drew Endy explores how synthetic biology has the potential to solve major problems in the environment, energy, medicine, and more. Investigate how biology can provide enough for humanity and nature as we get better at engineering living matter.
Pioneering neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis investigates how brains encode sensory and motor information. His groundbreaking work demonstrates that animals and humans can use their electrical brain activity to control neuroprosthetic devices with Brain Machine Interfaces and collaborate synchronistically.
Explore the challenges facing our oceans today, and why we should care. From industrial fishing to pollution to climate change, the damage to the seas risks becoming irreversible. Learn how we can still make a difference.
Theoretical physicist Veronika Hubeny explores the fundamental nature of spacetime using the gauge/gravity duality in order to develop a deeper understanding of black holes and their mysterious links to quantum information theory.
Explorer and paleoanthropologist Lee Berger is best known for his discoveries of Homo naledi and Australopithecus sediba, two human-like ancestors. Join him on this exploration as he explains the science behind these unprecedented findings.