34 - Should Beauty Guide Physicists?

An unlikely change in the theory of quantum mechanics would lead to bizarre new conclusions. Our guest talks us through non-linear quantum mechanics, and how physicists like him are testing it.For ad-free episodes and exclusive ask-us-anything segments, join us for just $3 a mont ...  Show more

Quantum mechanics is full of surprises. But somehow, the theory is captured almost entirely in a single equation. Today we explore the Schrödinger equation: how it works, what it says about nature, and why it revolutionized physics.For ad-free episodes and exclusive ask-us-anythi ...  Show more

The quest for a theory of everything – explaining all the forces and particles in the universe – is arguably the holy grail of physics. While each of our main theories of physics works extraordinarily well, they also clash with each other. But do we really need a theory of everyt ...  Show more

Robin Ince and Brian Cox are joined on stage by V for Vendetta author and legendary comic book writer Alan Moore, cosmologist Ed Copeland, and science broadcaster Dallas Campbell to ask whether Cosmology is really a science? Do scientific theories need to be testable to make them ...  Show more

How do birds hear if they have a hole through their heads? Where does matter come from? Just some of the questions put to Dr Karl this week for the Up All Night science phone in. 

Why do briefly glimpsed people appear to be more attractive? Why did portrait photographers put Vaseline on their lenses, and what does that have to do with Instagram filters? Why are thirsty people more likely to perceive something as transparent? And what does any of that have ...  Show more