This episode will hurt your brain, or your money back.To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

We interrupt our regular episodes to cover the exciting new discovery that the IceCube Neutrino Observatory announced on November 3rd, 2022.To support our show and get ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

We pick up the story of string theory and explore the explosion of interest it experienced in the mid 1980s.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

Last time, we introduced the biggest open problem in theoretical physics - the problem of combining gravity with quantum mechanics. In this first part of a three-part series, we introduce the leading candidate for how to do that: String Theory.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

Quantum mechanics and general relativity are two of the most successful theories of science ever, but they don't necessarily fit together. Learn why physicists are trying so hard to discover a quantum theory of gravity, and why it's been such a challenge.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

We pick up last episode's theme of particle colliders and dive into the most exciting one running today - the LHC. What is it, how does it work, and what new physics can it still reveal?For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

For the past century, physicists have been building particle colliders as a way to learn about the fundamental laws of physics. Today we talk about why smashing particles together has proven to be such a powerful tool.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

On May 12, 2022 astronomers revealed an image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Today we tell the story of what made this image possible.Today's episode is sponsored by Wren. Sign up through https://www.wren.co/universe to make a difference in the climate crisis, and Wren will plant 10 extra trees in your name!For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

Just like water changing to ice when it freezes, there were times in the universe's early history when reality changed in almost an instant. Today we dive into these cosmological phase transitions, and speculate about the strange objects these types of instant changes can create.For ad-free episodes and other exclusives, join us for $3 a month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/whythisuniverseSupport the show

When cosmology was still an infant science, a daring physicist wrote a theory of the beginning of time.  We revisit this theory and see what value we can still glean from it today.Support the show