1 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: Hey, Daniel, I've noticed that people just add quantum the 2 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 1: word quantum to things to make them sound cool. Oh man, 3 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: I hate when they do that. Yeah, like quantum combs, 4 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,439 Speaker 1: quantum um cereal. I mean it''s like they put it 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: on everything just to make it sound awesome. Yep. I 6 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: was seeing quantum dog food recently, and I'm pretty sure 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: that's not a real fact. Your dog both loves it 8 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: and hates it at the same time. But does that 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: mean to just all of quantum mechanics is like a scam, 10 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: not all of it, Like, there really is some physics 11 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: in quantum mechanics, but I'd say most things that are 12 00:00:47,680 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: called quantum are probably bologny. Hi am Jorge. I'm a 13 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: cartoonists and the creator of PhD Comics. Hi I'm Daniel. 14 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: I'm a quantum physicist and that is not bologny. Oh well, 15 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: it just happens. I'm a cartoon bologny cartoonists. So all 16 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: brings it together and welcome to our podcast, Daniel and 17 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:27,400 Speaker 1: Jorge Explain the Universe, a production of I Heart Radio 18 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: in which we explore everything that's crazy and amazing about 19 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: the universe, from classical physics to quantum mechanics and explain 20 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: it to you in a way that you can explain 21 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,479 Speaker 1: to your friends and sound super smart. Yeah, in ways 22 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,520 Speaker 1: that we do explain it and don't explain it at 23 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: the same time. We're sort of like a quantum podcast 24 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: in a way. We download individual, discretized units of explanation 25 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: into your brain. We spin it up and spin it 26 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: down for you guys. But quantum mechanics is one of 27 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: my favorite topics because it is so hard for people 28 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: to understand usually, but there are ways to look at 29 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: quantum mechanics and get a new sense of the world, 30 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: to reveal the reality that underlies everything. Yeah, it's your 31 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: favorite because people don't understand it. It's my favorite because 32 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,799 Speaker 1: it's a great example of how in physics we can 33 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: learn that the world is really quite different from the 34 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:21,799 Speaker 1: world we expected it to be. The world we grew 35 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: up in is not the way the world works. That 36 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: to really understand the universe, we have to remove our blinders, 37 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: and quantum mechanics is a great example of that because 38 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: it requires basically tossing out your entire intuition for how 39 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,960 Speaker 1: the world works and accepting something very different. Yeah, I 40 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: feel like that every day that I wake up and 41 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: read the news, like, what is this universe we're living in? 42 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: What quantum politics is that you're talking about? It's just 43 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: the quantum news will say, it's just the quantumy. It 44 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: makes sense and doesn't make sense at the same time. 45 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: It's about a dead cat and in a life cat 46 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: at the same time. I feel like quantum mechanics is 47 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,119 Speaker 1: something a lot of people are fascinated by. They've heard 48 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: about it, they hear people use words to explain it 49 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 1: that don't quite make sense to them, and so people 50 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: are thirsty for a real, honest to god understandable explanation 51 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: for some of this bizarre quantum phenomena. Yeah, and it 52 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: sort of seems, like you said, it almost seems like 53 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: two different universes. You know. There's like the universe that 54 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: you grew up and as a kid and feel you 55 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: understand where you take a ball and you bounce it 56 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: and comes back and you can throw a baseball and 57 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: it lands where you think it's gonna land. And then 58 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: there's there's the kind of the quantum universe you learned 59 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: later on in life, where like none of those things 60 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: you learned as a kid seem to apply precisely because 61 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: your brain develops all these ideas for how things move 62 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: based on what you've experienced. Things seem to move through 63 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: the universe, it seems like they have a smooth path, 64 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: and so later to grow up and learn that things 65 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: don't actually move. They just have these snapshots and then 66 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,680 Speaker 1: those later snapshots in your brain is filling in the 67 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 1: in between slices to make like a movie of the universe. 68 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: Is quite shocking. I wonder if we had evolved to 69 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: be much much smaller, if we would have sort of 70 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: a quantum intuition, if we like had everyday experiences of 71 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: quantum objects. You mean, like if it's taught at the 72 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: preschool level, if we try to teach kids quantum physics, 73 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: I don't think we should be doing short in your 74 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: equation um one plus one, spin up, spin down, you know, 75 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,359 Speaker 1: just the basics that you need to deal with this 76 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: crazy world we're living in. That's one approach, but I 77 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: think that people would still struggle because they don't have 78 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,360 Speaker 1: any actual experience with it. I'm talking about really experiencing 79 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: quantum mechanics, Like what if they were quantum effects that 80 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: were macroscopic, you know, things that were the sizes of 81 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: baseballs operated under quantum rules. It's pretty hard to reveal 82 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: that the universe is quantum mechanical. It took us thousands 83 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:49,039 Speaker 1: of years before we figure that out. What if it 84 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: wasn't so subtle, what if it was more obvious and 85 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: so people actually had an intuition for this, they're like, oh, electrons, Yeah, 86 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: those moves just like these other quantum basketballs or whatever 87 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: that I was playing in within my kindergarten playground. Yeah. Yeah, 88 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: maybe that's the next wave of physics education, is we 89 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: need to develop some sort of technology that operates like 90 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:16,119 Speaker 1: quantum objects so kids can play with like quantum balls. Yeah. Well, um, 91 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: it does seem like it's kind of a separate and 92 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: new universe, and it feels like there's a quantum version 93 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 1: of almost anything. Like for anything that we have in 94 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: our world, there seems to be like a quantum version 95 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 1: of it. Like you know, I know I can spin 96 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 1: here in my chair, and there's also something called quantum spin, 97 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:36,840 Speaker 1: and you know, my battery has charged at it, but 98 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: there's also something called quantum charge and so on and 99 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: so on. Yeah, there's even quantum flavor. Yeah, you think 100 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 1: in kindergarten that there's only sweet and salty and sour, 101 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: but there's also quantum flavor, and we have quantum color. 102 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: We had a whole podcast episodes about all these. Yeah, 103 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: so you can go to quantum Kindergarten too and learn 104 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 1: quantum sharing and quantum And in some cases these things 105 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: are metaphors, like quantum flavor. These particles don't actually taste 106 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: like anything, but we're trying to make an analogy. We're 107 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: trying to extrapolate from something we know, which is flavor, 108 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: and give you a sense for this weird new quantum thing. 109 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: But in other cases it really does make sense, like 110 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: quantum spin. Those particles are not spinning in the same way, 111 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:27,239 Speaker 1: but they really do have angular momentum, so spin really 112 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: makes sense. So in some cases the words are you know, 113 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: really a stretch. In some cases they really are applicable, right, Yeah, 114 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 1: that was a pretty good way to you just sput 115 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: it there, right, so obvious and clear. But but yeah, 116 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: but sometimes you know, I wonder, sometimes I wonder if 117 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,280 Speaker 1: it are pushing it a little bit too much. And 118 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: so today on the podcast, we have a great question 119 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: from a listener that we're going to try to answer. 120 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: And this is a question from Dale from Dublin. We 121 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:03,679 Speaker 1: had a very interesting question and about another strange sounding 122 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: quantum thing. Here's Dale Dale from Toblin oiland here I 123 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: heard about a thing called quantum phone or spacetime phone. 124 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: Could you talk about that for a bit and let 125 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,840 Speaker 1: us know what it is? Chairs Well, I love so 126 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: many things about this. First of all, I love Dale's 127 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: accent awesome, and I love the Dale wrote in. This 128 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 1: is just an email he sent me saying, hey, can 129 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: you explain this? And I asked him to send us 130 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:28,800 Speaker 1: a recording so we could talk about it on air 131 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: because I thought a lot of people might be interested 132 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: in the answer to this question. So thank you Dale 133 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: for writing in, and thank you to everybody who writes 134 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: in with their questions. Right, and just as a reminder, 135 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: we are on Instagram and Twitter at Daniel and Jorge 136 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: and if you want uh Daniel to answer back, try 137 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: Twitter or the email because Instagram will not answer your question. 138 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 1: I don't do quantum social media. Yeah, so if you 139 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: have a question, send it on into questions at Daniel 140 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:58,880 Speaker 1: and Jorge dot com or engage with us on Twitter 141 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: at Daniel in Jorge. Yeah, so this is an interesting question. 142 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: Quantum foam. It's sort of sounds like one of these 143 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: products that you sell in late night television that will 144 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: totally clean your bathroom at the molecular level. I think 145 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: a lot of times in marketing, quantum is just used 146 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: to describe something to make a sound more modern or technological. 147 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: You know, like like quantum dog food. That really is 148 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 1: a thing. I mean, it's your mechanical No, Google, quantum 149 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: dog food. There is a product they really do sell 150 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: dog Foodn't call it quantum. I think what they mean 151 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 1: by that is new fancy, you know, savvy to the 152 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: quantum mechanical world somehow new fancy. Yeah, well that's kind 153 00:08:41,920 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: of what you guys do in physics as well, isn't it. Oh, 154 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: this is a charge, but it's kind of new and fancy. 155 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 1: We'll call it quantum quantum. Wait, no, but it actually 156 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: is new and fancy. Sometimes we do discover stuff in physics. 157 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: It's new and fancy. All the quantum mechanics is new 158 00:08:56,280 --> 00:08:59,200 Speaker 1: and fancy. It really does happen. It's not just marketing. 159 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: Sometimes dog food is new and fancy. Why not and 160 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: coming districted little chunks? That's true? Yeah, alright, so I 161 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,240 Speaker 1: should order that product and I should evaluate it before 162 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 1: I give my opinion on it. You're totally right and 163 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: content doct food. Please give us a call. We are 164 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: opening for sponsorship. In this podcast, I was wondering if 165 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: Dale from Dublin was the only person thinking about spacetime foam, 166 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: and so I walked around and I asked people what 167 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: they thought about space time folm, had they heard of it? 168 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:31,160 Speaker 1: Did they know what Dale was talking about? Did they 169 00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:33,840 Speaker 1: have any idea what it was? And these questions again 170 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: didn't happen to e c Irvine. This happened at a 171 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: local coffee shop because I was trying to get a 172 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 1: sense for the broader public and their understanding of this topic. Yeah, 173 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:43,719 Speaker 1: so before you listen to these answers, think about it 174 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: for a second. If a physicist approached you at a 175 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: coffee shop, would you be able to answer the question, 176 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: what is spacetime foam? Here's what people had to say, 177 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: upper layer to spacetime that kind of bubbles up or something. 178 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 1: If that makes sense, Well, I'm no idea. I have 179 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:08,200 Speaker 1: no idea spacetime phone, no spacetime phone, no spacetime phone 180 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:15,640 Speaker 1: for space. I guess, but I don't um space. I'm 181 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: not all right. I feel like people were answering and 182 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: they were just about to call the police on you. 183 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: On these you can sort of hear that in responses. 184 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: They're like, I am so regretting answering this questions. What 185 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: are you talking about? I think, yeah, I mean people 186 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: go to a coffee shop to wake up, and you're 187 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: asking them physics questions over their cappuccimo phone. Well, you know, 188 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: I specifically tried to choose people that looked like they 189 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: were studying, like they had a book open and they 190 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,120 Speaker 1: were reading something, because I was hoping to find people 191 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: who were, you know, like had their brains on or intellection, 192 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: engaged in something, or maybe curious about this kind of thing. 193 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:57,960 Speaker 1: I didn't interrupt, like couples that were smooching, or if 194 00:10:57,960 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: they looked like they were listening to a podcast, You're like, 195 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: that person probably knows everything already, right. I try to 196 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: avoid people who already have their earbuds in, because I 197 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: feel like in public, earbuds mean don't talk to me. Well, 198 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: this is kind of an interesting question. Quantum foam and 199 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:15,679 Speaker 1: I I had never heard of it. If you have 200 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:17,680 Speaker 1: approached me at a coffee shop, I would have just 201 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,400 Speaker 1: said no, please, go on, please please asked me an 202 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: easier question. You would have been like, you look like 203 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: this other physicist I know, and I definitely ignore him 204 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: in public. So I'm not talking to you as a 205 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: blanket policy. That's my decision on physicists. All right, So 206 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: this is an interesting question because it's it's like you're 207 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:41,599 Speaker 1: marrying two words that are very common space time and foam, 208 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: but that together really don't make any sense. Yes, And 209 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: that happens so much in quantum mechanics. People say things 210 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,880 Speaker 1: that use words together and you understand the individual words, 211 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: but you don't really know what it means when you 212 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: put it together. So we'll get into what spacetime foam 213 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,200 Speaker 1: is and what we know about it and how we 214 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 1: might be able to find it in in this frothy 215 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:04,599 Speaker 1: little universe we live in. But first let's take a 216 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: quick break, all right, Dannel, we're talking about spacetime foam, 217 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: and it's not a weird product that you sell on 218 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: late night television. It's an actual physical theory in science, 219 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: and so let's get into that a little bit. And 220 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: I guess let's start with the first two words to 221 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 1: set us up for the foamy part um. So let's 222 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about spacetime, because in this case, 223 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: I think Dale from Dublin used the word as one word, 224 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: like spacetime, not space common time. He called it spacetime. 225 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: So let's maybe refresh for our listeners what it means 226 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:55,959 Speaker 1: to say spacetime. Yeah, it's like you take two words 227 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: you put them together. They mean something special, like green 228 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 1: and house. Greenhouse is not just a greenhouse, right, has 229 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,320 Speaker 1: its own meaning. So in the same way space time 230 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: is sort of a special word in physics, and of 231 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: course you know it's spaces. Space is just the three 232 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: dimensions of movement. You know, you have X, y, and Z. 233 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,200 Speaker 1: And we have a whole other episode about like what 234 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: makes up space? Is it a thing because it can 235 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: wiggle and dance and jiggle and expand and all this stuff. 236 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: But for our purposes today, let's just think about it 237 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: as sort of as the directions you can move in X, Y, 238 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: and Z. So that's what space means, like the space 239 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: we're in, like where we move around in. Yeah, precisely, 240 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,439 Speaker 1: nothing special there. And time is just time, right, time 241 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: flows forwards, and you can think of time in analogy 242 00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:43,160 Speaker 1: to space. You can think of us as moving through 243 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: time the way you can move through space. And we 244 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: have a whole podcast episode digging into how time is 245 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: connected to space and how time is different from space. 246 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: But Einstein is the guy who put these two things together. 247 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 1: He's the first one to construct this idea of space 248 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: time by taking three dimensions of space that you can 249 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:03,839 Speaker 1: move in and adding the time dimension to it is 250 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,840 Speaker 1: sort of a fourth dimension. So together space time is 251 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: this four dimensional idea X y Z and then time. Right, 252 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: I feel like you just said something profound though you 253 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:18,320 Speaker 1: just said time is time. That man, time is so fascinating. 254 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 1: I could talk endlessly about time. We could spend all 255 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: of our time talking about time. But maybe it's not 256 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 1: time to do that. That one phrases made me think 257 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: about my whole life and where I'm going with it. 258 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 1: And well, can I sell you my new product. It's 259 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: called quantum time the There you go, alright, quantum quantum 260 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: watch to keep track of the inevitability of time. It's 261 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: new and fancy and has to be charged every fifteen minutes. 262 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: There you go, alright. So spacetime is this idea that um, 263 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: space and time are not separate, like maybe if you 264 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 1: think about them altogether in one package, one four dimensional bundle. 265 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: Then it's more appropriate somehow like uh like the related 266 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: like one of them affects the other, so therefore you 267 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: should keep track of them all at the same time precisely. 268 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: And it was Einstein's theory of special relativity that showed 269 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: us exactly how space and time are affected by each other. Specifically, 270 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: how time flows depends on where you are and how 271 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: fast you are going relative to something else, and so 272 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 1: in order to understand time, you can't just have time 273 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 1: by itself. Time is not universal. Time is local. Time 274 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: depends on where you are in space, and so it 275 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 1: makes much more sense to combine these two things together. 276 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: It's like having the weather, right. The weather is not 277 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: the same everywhere, so you want to talk about the 278 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,800 Speaker 1: weather where you are in Buffalo, or in New Delhi 279 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 1: or in Barcelona, and so you pair the weather with 280 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: the location because that makes more sense. It's called the 281 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: space time weather continuum, which you hear listen to my 282 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: new quantum weather reports. It's a new Toppler quantum three 283 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 1: thousand that probably is a real thing. I mean, you're joking, 284 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: but there's probably some will station out there with quantum weather. 285 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: Dobbler some local weatherman in the middle of Barcelona. And 286 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: Geinstein was not crazy, right, Like, he didn't just make 287 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,840 Speaker 1: this up and it didn't work. It actually works, Like 288 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 1: bundling space and time together does tell you something about 289 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: the universe, and it's there's been theories and experiments done 290 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: to prove that this is all for real. Oh, yes, 291 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: Einstein was right about this. That doesn't mean Einstein wasn't crazy. 292 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:28,960 Speaker 1: I mean, you dig into that guy's personal life. He 293 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 1: was more than a little bit across. What do you mean. 294 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,200 Speaker 1: He was also right about spacetime, all right, So that spacetime. 295 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: And now the question from Dale was what is spacetime foam? 296 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,400 Speaker 1: And I have to say, I've never heard of this before. 297 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: Is this a new thing? Is this something that's only 298 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: been around for a couple of years, or is this 299 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,480 Speaker 1: like a fringe theory or French theory? I don't know 300 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: either one. What is what is going on with spacetime phoam? Well, 301 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: I can't endorse your casual slander of entire culture there, 302 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,600 Speaker 1: but it is a bit of a fringe in theory. 303 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 1: It's one of these things. It's like it's an idea 304 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,919 Speaker 1: that took hold in some people's minds, but then not 305 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: a lot of progress was made, so so HA just 306 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,720 Speaker 1: been hanging out there, bubbling up in people's brains without 307 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 1: really turning into anything concrete. So it's been around for 308 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:18,640 Speaker 1: a while, but it's not really part of the mainstream physics. 309 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,919 Speaker 1: It's just been foaming up in people's research dockets. And 310 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:23,560 Speaker 1: so I know that you keep abreast of all the 311 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:25,919 Speaker 1: latest topics in physics and you read all the physics journals, 312 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 1: and that's probably why you haven't heard about this recently. Right, Well, 313 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,000 Speaker 1: at first I thought it was maybe an acronym, like 314 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,840 Speaker 1: maybe fo a M stands for something. It's the first 315 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: of a multiverse, which is a new theory by Jorge 316 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:43,120 Speaker 1: Cham about how we're the most awesome of all the multiverses. 317 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: And somehow Dale from Dublin knew about your theory before 318 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,679 Speaker 1: you even thought about it and thought to ask in advance. Wow, 319 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,679 Speaker 1: good job, Dale. Yeah, well, in other multiverses he didn't, 320 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:57,879 Speaker 1: but this one, because it's the best he did, all right, 321 00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: So let's let's talk about this. So there is something 322 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:05,439 Speaker 1: called spacetime foam that physicists think might be real and 323 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,199 Speaker 1: might actually kind of describe what the universe is like, 324 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,880 Speaker 1: so take us through it, Daniel, what does it mean 325 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: to put the word spacetime and foam together? The idea 326 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: here is to try to resolve the conflict between our 327 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: two great theories of physics. We talked about space time 328 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,359 Speaker 1: in terms of relativity, and that all makes sense. And 329 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,919 Speaker 1: relativity has been tested out the wazoo and up the 330 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: wazoo and in the wazoo in every way around the wazoo. 331 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: Because is that it's a great theory. Is that another 332 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: physics experiment acronym the wazoo, the wazoo, I'm not sure 333 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: what it means collider in Italy apparently, but special relativity 334 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 1: has been extensively tested, and so has general relativity. But 335 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: we don't know if it really holds universally. That we 336 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:57,199 Speaker 1: have suspicions that it probably doesn't work on really really 337 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: tiny distances. So general relativity said is that space is 338 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: sort of smooth, that you can chop it up into 339 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:06,640 Speaker 1: tinier and tinier bits and you'll never sort of run 340 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 1: out of ways to cut it in half. That like 341 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,199 Speaker 1: in Zeno's paradox, you could take smaller and smaller steps forever. 342 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:16,159 Speaker 1: That's what general relativity says. It predicts it, or it 343 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,959 Speaker 1: assumes it. It assumes that it it uses that as 344 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: its essential description of what space is. That you could 345 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,399 Speaker 1: have a particle or an object located at any point. 346 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:26,720 Speaker 1: You know, if you have an infinite number of locations 347 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:29,200 Speaker 1: between me and you, that a particle could be at 348 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: any of those locations. Oh, I see. It's kind of 349 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:34,840 Speaker 1: like Newtonian physics, right almost in a way, like it 350 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:39,600 Speaker 1: assumes that space is smooth, and it doesn't assume anything 351 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: that's that anything is quantized. That's right, And you look 352 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,800 Speaker 1: at the universe around you, and the universe seems smooth, right, 353 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 1: It seems like you could sit anywhere. It seems like 354 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,399 Speaker 1: if you took a ruler, you could cut it in 355 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: an infinite number of ways. Whatever that there's an infinite 356 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,239 Speaker 1: number of ways. But just like the screen on your 357 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,440 Speaker 1: iPhone looks really crisp and smooth, but if you zoom in, 358 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,679 Speaker 1: you discover that there are pixels there. And so general 359 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,719 Speaker 1: relativity tells us that the universe is smooth. That's space 360 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 1: is infinitely sliceable. But that's in conflict with quantum mechanics. 361 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: Quantum mechanics says that you can't have infinitely sliceable space. Yeah, 362 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: that at the fundamental level, it's pixelated, kind of like 363 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,720 Speaker 1: my iPhone screen. Although my iPhone screen these days looks 364 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:28,720 Speaker 1: kind of blurry because as I've said before, I need 365 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: reading glasses. Now I'm not sure that's a problem with 366 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 1: your iPhone screen, but well it's a it's a problem 367 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: for my new quantum reading glasses. Yeah. And so quantum 368 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:39,760 Speaker 1: mechanics has this impact on lots of things that we measure. 369 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,480 Speaker 1: Things that at large scales seem smooth turn out to 370 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:46,560 Speaker 1: be discretized, turned out to be sliced up into chunks. 371 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: Like a flashlight beam is not a smooth, continuous beam 372 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: of light. It's a stream of tiny little packets called photons. 373 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 1: The same way your bowl of ice cream is not 374 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,640 Speaker 1: infinitely chopped herble into smaller and smaller spoonful. There are 375 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:02,840 Speaker 1: atoms in there. It's made out of these tiny little 376 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: lego pieces. So the same concept can be applied to 377 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: lots of things, and quantum mechanics says that probably it 378 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,399 Speaker 1: also applies to space. So we have this conflict between 379 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: these two great theories of physics, relativity and quantum mechanics, 380 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: and the conflict lies in a place that's really hard 381 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 1: to spot where things are super duper small, so meaning 382 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: that general relativity doesn't know that there's something called quantum 383 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:33,240 Speaker 1: physics and quantum mechanics. Quantum physics sort of we don't. 384 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 1: Do we know that quantum mechanics takes into account general 385 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 1: relativity or is there such a thing as bending a 386 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,639 Speaker 1: space and quantum mechanics. So that's a great question. People 387 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:46,359 Speaker 1: have tried to say, let's take Einstein's theory of general 388 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,200 Speaker 1: relativity and let's make a quantum version of it. Can 389 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,720 Speaker 1: we make a version of general relativity where space is 390 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,840 Speaker 1: pixelated or we know quantum mechanics comes into account, and 391 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:01,400 Speaker 1: currently we have no great functioning theory like these. Reason um, 392 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 1: you can make a theory of general relativity that is quantized, 393 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 1: but it doesn't work when space is really intense, like 394 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,359 Speaker 1: inside a black hole. When the gravity gets really really strong, 395 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:13,640 Speaker 1: then the theory breaks down and predicts things that don't 396 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 1: make sense. It gives you like infinities and all sorts 397 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 1: of crazy numbers. So we don't currently have a working 398 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,919 Speaker 1: theory of what's called quantum gravity that tries to marry 399 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: all the best things from general relativity and quantum mechanics. 400 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,919 Speaker 1: So does that mean that quantum mechanics operates kind of 401 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:35,120 Speaker 1: in a Newtonian or like perfect kind of pre Einstein universe. 402 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 1: Quantum mechanics operates often in if what we call a 403 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: flat space, you know, space that's not bent by mass. 404 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:45,000 Speaker 1: You can do quantum mechanics in curved space, where if 405 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,160 Speaker 1: you're like near the Sun or near a black hole 406 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,800 Speaker 1: and space is curved, you can do that quantum mechanics. 407 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 1: But if you try to do it when space is 408 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: too curved, when the gravity gets really really strong, then 409 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: it just doesn't work. We just don't even have a theory. 410 00:22:57,920 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 1: We can't like even come up with a theory that 411 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:04,159 Speaker 1: makes sensible predictions, not to mention check those predictions against 412 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:07,639 Speaker 1: actual experiments. All right, So it sounds like general relativity 413 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,119 Speaker 1: is good for kind of big distances and tells us 414 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,640 Speaker 1: how the universe works at large scales, and quantum mechanics 415 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 1: tells us how it works in really really tiny scales. 416 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:22,120 Speaker 1: But there are situations where the two theories just don't. 417 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,399 Speaker 1: Neither of them work. Yeah, and what we need to 418 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: do is get inside a black hole and see what 419 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,400 Speaker 1: happens when you have both small distances. So quantum mechanics 420 00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 1: is relevant and really intends gravity, so general relativity is relevant. Unfortunately, 421 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:38,359 Speaker 1: all the people we've sent into black holes have not 422 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,360 Speaker 1: been coming. Yeah, I was gonna say that you're using 423 00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: the word we they're pretty broadly. There any volunteers out 424 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: there who wants to be the first person to die 425 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:54,160 Speaker 1: at a black hole. And this is where the idea 426 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:56,919 Speaker 1: of space time foam comes from. It comes from an 427 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: attempt to try to reconcile these two theories. I see. 428 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: It's a it's another one of these unifying theories, like 429 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: theories of everything. Precisely. There's one theory that says maybe 430 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,280 Speaker 1: the universe is made out of tiny little loops. That's 431 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:15,280 Speaker 1: called loop quantum gravity. Another one says maybe everything is 432 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:19,480 Speaker 1: just a tiny vibrating string at string theory. There's even 433 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,879 Speaker 1: one called spin foam, where everything is like this weird 434 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: spinning kind of foam. But spacetime foam is a particular 435 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:30,879 Speaker 1: theory that tries to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity, 436 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:34,120 Speaker 1: and it imagines space is being made of these tiny 437 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: little pixels, but these pixels would be quantum mechanical and 438 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:42,000 Speaker 1: so like bubbles and a frothing foam they might like 439 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,960 Speaker 1: pop in and out of existence. All right, let's get 440 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,960 Speaker 1: people in the loop of this and get a little 441 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,760 Speaker 1: bit more into what quantum foam or spacelime foam is 442 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: and how we know about it and what we might 443 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 1: discover if we poke around in the universe. But first, 444 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: let's take another quick break. Yeah, all right, Daniel. So 445 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: quantum foam is kind of like quantum dog food, and 446 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: that you know, you're trying to make something that your 447 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:22,720 Speaker 1: dog will both eat and enjoy at the same time. 448 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 1: We're trying to make something that explains both general relativity 449 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 1: and quantum mechanics all and that your dog will like, 450 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,840 Speaker 1: I guess, also um at the same time. And so 451 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:37,119 Speaker 1: and that's hard because, as you said, they're sort of 452 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,600 Speaker 1: based on two very different views of the universe, that's right. 453 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: And you know, for relativity to work, what we need 454 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:45,760 Speaker 1: is a new imagining of it. We need to start 455 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,720 Speaker 1: from a different conception of what space is. Einstein assumed 456 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,159 Speaker 1: that space was smooth and continuous, and he built his 457 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: theory upon that assumption. So we need to start from 458 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,240 Speaker 1: a different assumption and say, actually, spaces made of these 459 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,359 Speaker 1: tiny grains or these little bubbles and under stand the 460 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,880 Speaker 1: nature of those and then build a theory on top 461 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:04,920 Speaker 1: of that. And I don't know this is true. It's 462 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: not clear that spacetime boom is a real description of space. 463 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,879 Speaker 1: You know. It might be the pixels are a better description, 464 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: or loops or little strings, or we really just don't know, 465 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:17,479 Speaker 1: but we need a new idea. And so theorists are 466 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 1: just sort of being creative and smoking banana peals and saying, well, 467 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:23,080 Speaker 1: maybe it's more like this, and you know, you look 468 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:26,200 Speaker 1: around the macroscopic universe to get inspiration, you know, and 469 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,639 Speaker 1: maybe some physicist was smoking a banan appeal and looking 470 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,680 Speaker 1: at soap bubbles and thinking, huh, maybe space is just 471 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 1: like that. Well it's it's interesting because I feel like, 472 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:40,199 Speaker 1: you know, there's these two theories and it's not like 473 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,400 Speaker 1: you're saying like, oh, maybe quantum mechanics is wrong, and 474 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,320 Speaker 1: really we just need to extend general relativity, or you're 475 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: not saying, oh general relativity is wrong, we just need 476 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,120 Speaker 1: to extend quantum mechanics. I feel like you're saying that 477 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,800 Speaker 1: we we need to throw both of these into the 478 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 1: garbage and kind of come up with one theory, start over, 479 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,560 Speaker 1: re imagine the universe and come up with one theory 480 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,439 Speaker 1: that you know, it sort of looks like one and 481 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: looks at the other, but actually kind of works continuously 482 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: across the whole universe. Yeah, well, we don't know what 483 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,600 Speaker 1: the necessary process will be. It might be that we 484 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:18,239 Speaker 1: can take what we have from general relativity and from 485 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,440 Speaker 1: quantum mechanics and marry them um. Or it might be that, yeah, 486 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 1: we have to toss it out and start all over again. 487 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,720 Speaker 1: The process of science is iterative, right. It's like a 488 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: writer writing a draft of a screenplay or something. You 489 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: just keep trying to make it better and better until 490 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 1: it fits, and then at some point you realize, you 491 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,720 Speaker 1: know what, this is hot mess of garbage, and you've 492 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: got to toss it out and start all over again. 493 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 1: So we don't know. We don't know if you know, 494 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: we're one more draft away from something we can publish, 495 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 1: or if you've got to toss it all out and 496 00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 1: start on the next book, right, Or maybe the studio 497 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: head goes, well, it's too late, let's just make this 498 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: bad movie and can you make it funnier? And we 499 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,160 Speaker 1: live in that universe that should never have been made 500 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:01,520 Speaker 1: where the plant is It don't make any sense? And 501 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,679 Speaker 1: the acting is stiffid best. That's even better than do 502 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 1: we live in a simulation? Is? Do we live in 503 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: a poorly written sim simulation? Like that? I got notes 504 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: for you simulation authors. Okay, here's how you should have 505 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,480 Speaker 1: done the simulation. Here's what rotten Tomato says about your 506 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 1: universe business ratings on on universe simulations. I like it. 507 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: There you go. Quantum Rotten Tomatoes is the name of 508 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 1: my new website. Check it out. Alright, So step us through. 509 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: What is quantum foam? Then? Is it? What does it 510 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: poe mean? Why is it phone? It have bubbles in it? 511 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 1: Is it like a froth? Why is it called quantum phone? Yeah? 512 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:45,160 Speaker 1: The idea is that quantum mechanical things fluctuate. They come 513 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: in and out of existence. If you zoom into particles 514 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,120 Speaker 1: at the smallest scale, you can't follow them along the 515 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,480 Speaker 1: way you would follow a baseball. They sort of pop 516 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:55,960 Speaker 1: into existence and pop out of existence. They turn into 517 00:28:55,960 --> 00:29:00,200 Speaker 1: other particles. It's like a constant mess, right, and so 518 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:02,880 Speaker 1: lots of things are happening like it's bubbling at the surface, 519 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: kind of like foam. Those are the things in space 520 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,760 Speaker 1: and times. This is saying that space, time itself is 521 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,800 Speaker 1: like a phone, right, And so if space itself is quantized, 522 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: it's made out of these pixels, and these pixels are 523 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: quantum mechanical, then it's possible that the pixels themselves are 524 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,360 Speaker 1: sort of bubbling in and out of existence. It's one 525 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,400 Speaker 1: step to go from space is smooth to space is 526 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,360 Speaker 1: discrete r it's made of pixels. It's another to say, 527 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:29,880 Speaker 1: maybe those pixels themselves are not like permanent, they're like temporary, 528 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: you know, they're ephemeral. They're coming in and out of 529 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,000 Speaker 1: existence because in the end, a lot of quantum mechanical 530 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: things are Space itself is coming into and out of existence, 531 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:42,720 Speaker 1: like yeah, like this bit of space run in front 532 00:29:42,720 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 1: of my eyes here precisely the you know, the object 533 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: in front of you, for example, whatever it is, it's 534 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:48,280 Speaker 1: in front of you right now. It's a banana, or 535 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: it's an apple or whatever, that's made of quantum mechanical particles. 536 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: Now it seems solid, it seems like it's really there. 537 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: But if you zoomed in on the little particles, the 538 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:57,720 Speaker 1: particles that make it up are popping in and out 539 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:00,040 Speaker 1: of existence. They're turning into energy, they're turning back the 540 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: particles that changing into other particles and then coming back 541 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 1: you don't even notice, right, So that phone or whatever 542 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:07,920 Speaker 1: in front of you is a frothing mess, but you 543 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: just don't notice it frothing because the frothing is so tiny. 544 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 1: So if it's hard for you to imagine, like that 545 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: space itself could also be frothing. Remember everything around you 546 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: is kind of frothing. Oh wait, so this would be 547 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,400 Speaker 1: like under the quantum particles. Like you could have a 548 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:26,240 Speaker 1: quantum particle and it's really tiny, but the space it 549 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: is sitting on could be bubbling underneath it. Is that 550 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 1: what you're saying precisely, And remember that in modern quantum mechanics, 551 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:35,400 Speaker 1: we don't even really think of particles as like the 552 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: basic element of stuff in the universe. Particles are just 553 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 1: excited states of quantum fields. And quantum fields they had 554 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: a whole episode on, are a property of space itself. 555 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:49,360 Speaker 1: So you can't really separate the matter and the space 556 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:52,320 Speaker 1: because matter is just an excited state of quantum fields, 557 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,440 Speaker 1: which are a part of space, but is the spacetime 558 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 1: foam on the same scale as the particles like um 559 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 1: you know what mean? Like what if there's a particle 560 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,040 Speaker 1: that just happens to be sitting on a spacetime bubble 561 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:08,240 Speaker 1: and that bubble pops. Does that particle just disappear or 562 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,960 Speaker 1: is it like riding on top of a whole bunch 563 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 1: of little spacetime bubbles. Yeah, I think you have to 564 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: think of particles as part of space, because particles are 565 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 1: again excited states of these fields, and the fields themselves 566 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: are part of space. And so I thinks it takes 567 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:25,920 Speaker 1: a whole new way of thinking about like the nature 568 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,560 Speaker 1: of the universe at the smallest scale. It's not like 569 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: particles are sort of filling in slots in space. They're 570 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:35,200 Speaker 1: like excited space. Oh and you're saying that this space 571 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 1: is actually more like foam, meaning that it's just a 572 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:43,560 Speaker 1: whole bunch of little pockets of it kind of pressed together, 573 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 1: and each one of these pockets is a quantum of 574 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: space time. That's right. And we don't know the size 575 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: of these bubbles. If these bubbles exist, and we don't 576 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:53,960 Speaker 1: know that they do, the question is how big would 577 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,560 Speaker 1: they be? And we suspect if they do exist, they'd 578 00:31:56,560 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 1: be super duper duper duper tiny. But you have the 579 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:02,920 Speaker 1: idea is that you know you have a localization of 580 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,880 Speaker 1: energy that energy is an excited state of all the 581 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,080 Speaker 1: quantum fields in that space, and that localization of energy 582 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: you could extend across multiple bubbles of quantum space, perhaps 583 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,000 Speaker 1: for example, like a photon, and that you know, it 584 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: could be made of these little frothing bubbles. They're smaller 585 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:20,160 Speaker 1: than that packet of energy. And so what am I 586 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: doing when I'm moving through space? Am I moving from 587 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: bubble to bubble? Or do I take like each one 588 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,240 Speaker 1: of my particles might be in this bobble, bubble or 589 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 1: that bubble. Well, you are those bubbles. You're not in 590 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:37,440 Speaker 1: those bubbles. You are those bubbles and the spacetime foam. 591 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 1: You are the spacetime boam, and so am I. We 592 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:43,320 Speaker 1: are all one with the spacetime foam. Remember, you are 593 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,040 Speaker 1: just an excited state of the space that you are occupying. 594 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:50,800 Speaker 1: And when you move that information, then that energy then moves, 595 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,200 Speaker 1: you know, it excites another part of the quantum space. 596 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,720 Speaker 1: It's like you are the wave on the string. Right. 597 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,200 Speaker 1: If I'm holding a string and I wiggle it, you 598 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,000 Speaker 1: can say, like where does that wiggle? It moves along 599 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: the string the same way you are wiggling the quantum 600 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,320 Speaker 1: fields where you are now and then when you travel 601 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,479 Speaker 1: somewhere for Thanksgiving, you're gonna wiggle those quantum fields. So 602 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:12,320 Speaker 1: don't think about it as you are particles in space somewhere, 603 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: but you are excited wiggling of space. Oh, I see, 604 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:21,880 Speaker 1: I'm just an excitation from one bubble to the next bubble, precisely. 605 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:25,959 Speaker 1: And the idea of spacetime foam is that maybe space 606 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,960 Speaker 1: is discretized and those little discrete blobs are popping in 607 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,680 Speaker 1: and out of existence. They're like not long lasting, They're 608 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: not eternal or permanent. They're sort of frothing, oh, coming 609 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:37,560 Speaker 1: in and out. But what if I get stuck in 610 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:41,920 Speaker 1: one that pops, I wouldn't recommend that. Does that mean 611 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,520 Speaker 1: I'm no longer in existence? Then you don't have to 612 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:46,640 Speaker 1: buy quantum pet food for your quantum dog because the 613 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:49,000 Speaker 1: quantum out of existence. You know, these things are at 614 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,560 Speaker 1: a very very small scale. So unless you're a particle 615 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,760 Speaker 1: on the size of quantum foam, you don't have to 616 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,760 Speaker 1: worry about it. But also energy is conserved. So if 617 00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:59,960 Speaker 1: space is frothing somewhere and energetic, and there's an excitation 618 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,720 Speaker 1: enough space here, that energy is going to go somewhere, 619 00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:05,040 Speaker 1: maybe into the next bubble with the next bubble, So 620 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:07,920 Speaker 1: the bubble itself might pop out of existence, but the 621 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 1: energy that is represented by that excitation is not going 622 00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:12,840 Speaker 1: to go away. Oh, it's just gonna move on to 623 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:15,719 Speaker 1: another bubble. Yeah, that's what you do. When you move 624 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,600 Speaker 1: from place to place. You are exciting those fields, and 625 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:21,200 Speaker 1: now you're exciting these fields over here, all right. And 626 00:34:21,280 --> 00:34:24,480 Speaker 1: so there's a theory that says that the universe at 627 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,520 Speaker 1: the very core level is like a foam, But that's 628 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,840 Speaker 1: just one competing theory about what it looks like down there. 629 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 1: How are we going to find out which one it is? 630 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 1: How do we know if the universe is foaming or 631 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:40,320 Speaker 1: if it's well, we need lots of money to build 632 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:44,720 Speaker 1: a huge particle collecit That's my answer to everything, right right, Money, 633 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:48,200 Speaker 1: It just solves everything for you, doesn't it any It 634 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:50,040 Speaker 1: sort of does you know? If you want to answer 635 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,440 Speaker 1: questions about high energy or heavy particles or tiny distances, 636 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:55,880 Speaker 1: which you need is a microscope to look at the 637 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,759 Speaker 1: really really small And the only thing that prevents us 638 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:01,560 Speaker 1: from looking at really really small spaces is having enough 639 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:04,359 Speaker 1: money to build a big enough microscope. We know how 640 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,640 Speaker 1: to do. It is just really expensive, so we could 641 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,439 Speaker 1: probe these distances. We think the distances involved or something 642 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:14,480 Speaker 1: like ten to the minus thirty five meters, which is 643 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: ridunculously tiny. Like if you had a microscope with not 644 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,560 Speaker 1: just like a ten x hundred eggs, but like tend 645 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: to the thirty five x, we might be able to 646 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 1: see these phone bubbles and time. Yeah, we had a 647 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 1: whole episode about how you see tiny things and microscopes 648 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,120 Speaker 1: and electron microscopes and particle colliders, so people should dig 649 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:36,520 Speaker 1: into that if they want more information. But basically we 650 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:39,120 Speaker 1: can see down to tend to the minus twenty right now, 651 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:41,880 Speaker 1: which is pretty impressive. We think these bubbles are tend 652 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:45,480 Speaker 1: to the minus thirty five, so fifteen orders of magnitude 653 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:47,759 Speaker 1: is is actually still a lot. You know, there's a 654 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,600 Speaker 1: we're far away from being able to see these pixels. 655 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:53,080 Speaker 1: So that's one way is to build a really big collider. 656 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,719 Speaker 1: Another is to try to use like really long distances 657 00:35:56,719 --> 00:36:01,879 Speaker 1: in space ah to use as base itself like a microscope. 658 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,600 Speaker 1: The idea is if space is bubbling and frothing, then 659 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:07,799 Speaker 1: you know it's sort of constantly changing. That means that 660 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,400 Speaker 1: like the distance that light has to travel from point 661 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:13,560 Speaker 1: A to point B is not necessarily fixed. So they 662 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 1: do these crazy experiments where they look at something really 663 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 1: really far away and they try to see it in 664 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:21,520 Speaker 1: two different ways. They try to understand, like, you know, 665 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:24,600 Speaker 1: let's look at two photons that left that really bright 666 00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:27,240 Speaker 1: source of light maybe a quasar, at the same moment, 667 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,239 Speaker 1: and see if they arrived here on Earth at the 668 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 1: same time. If there's a difference, then maybe that's because 669 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,440 Speaker 1: there was more quantum foam bubbling up for one photon 670 00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:40,240 Speaker 1: then for the other. Oh, I see, because it's foamy. 671 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:43,239 Speaker 1: That means the path you take through this foam is 672 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:46,960 Speaker 1: sort of random. And so like one photon could have 673 00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:52,320 Speaker 1: hit a really foamy patch I guess, and and gone 674 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,640 Speaker 1: through a little bit of extra space more than the 675 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:56,640 Speaker 1: other particle who just happened to go through a part 676 00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:59,040 Speaker 1: of space it wasn't as foamy, and so that would 677 00:36:59,040 --> 00:37:02,080 Speaker 1: tell you like, oh, space is not consistent, it's kind 678 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,360 Speaker 1: of frothy. That's the idea. I have to say that. 679 00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:07,400 Speaker 1: I'm skeptical because you know, on long distance scales, so 680 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:09,400 Speaker 1: you would think that these things would average out, like 681 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,279 Speaker 1: you're going for a billion years, then the number of 682 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:15,439 Speaker 1: random tosses of a coin are gonna be pretty close 683 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:20,240 Speaker 1: to So two photons flying through incredible distances in the universe, 684 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:22,279 Speaker 1: you know we're going to have pretty even odds to 685 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:25,440 Speaker 1: go roughly the same distance. Anyway, they look at these photons, 686 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:29,440 Speaker 1: they don't see anything, no surprise, and so they haven't 687 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:32,200 Speaker 1: discovered quantum foam. All right, Well, do you think we'll 688 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:35,400 Speaker 1: ever discover whether the universe is made out of quantum 689 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,759 Speaker 1: foam or not? I think we will. I think it 690 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,640 Speaker 1: will require some really clever mathematics to come up with 691 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:43,759 Speaker 1: like how these theories might actually work. Because remember, we 692 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:46,120 Speaker 1: don't have a functioning theory. We don't have a theory 693 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:48,839 Speaker 1: we can actually go test the theory. If we ask 694 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:51,400 Speaker 1: you questions, it gives us gibberish. And so we need 695 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:53,239 Speaker 1: to come up with a good theory, and then we 696 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 1: need to be really clever about how to test it. 697 00:37:55,239 --> 00:37:57,800 Speaker 1: And I think maybe some time far in the future, 698 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:00,080 Speaker 1: when we can get closer to black holes, will be 699 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:02,680 Speaker 1: able to test some of these theories in environments with 700 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:06,160 Speaker 1: really intense gravity. But it's pretty far off in the future. 701 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:10,200 Speaker 1: So we need clever ideas and we need awesome new experiments, right, 702 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:12,640 Speaker 1: I guess all of that is just to say, San Daniel, 703 00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:16,799 Speaker 1: more money is the entire takeaway. Who needs sponsorship from 704 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:19,640 Speaker 1: quantum dog food when you can just have a whole 705 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:23,880 Speaker 1: podcast to ask people for money. That's right. Email me 706 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:28,520 Speaker 1: your quantum dollars to contributions at Daniel and Jorge dot com. 707 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,359 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that does feel like my bank account. It's 708 00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:36,440 Speaker 1: both there and not there. It's constantly fluctuated. Yeah, it's 709 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:42,319 Speaker 1: poemy have phoney money, not phony money, phony money. All right, Well, 710 00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:45,799 Speaker 1: thank you Dale from Doubling. We hope that answered your 711 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:50,799 Speaker 1: question about what quantum foam or spacetime foam is, and 712 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,480 Speaker 1: I guess the answer is stay tuned. Yeah, it's a 713 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:55,920 Speaker 1: really fun idea. It's fun to speculate about what the 714 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,560 Speaker 1: universe might be like at the smallest scales. It's fun 715 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,319 Speaker 1: to take ideas from our everyday world and see if 716 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:04,560 Speaker 1: they apply at the quantum scale. But today we don't 717 00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:06,680 Speaker 1: really know if quantum bom is a thing or just 718 00:39:06,719 --> 00:39:09,919 Speaker 1: an idea bubbling up in the mind of physicists. So 719 00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:12,920 Speaker 1: keep on looking and keep us sending us your questions. 720 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:16,040 Speaker 1: We're happy to answer them. All right. We hope you enjoyed. Dad. 721 00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:25,960 Speaker 1: Thank you for joining us see you next time. Before 722 00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,000 Speaker 1: you still have a question after listening to all these explanations, 723 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:32,040 Speaker 1: please drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you. 724 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:34,879 Speaker 1: You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at 725 00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:38,319 Speaker 1: Daniel and Jorge That's one Word, or email us at 726 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:42,280 Speaker 1: Feedback at Daniel and Jorge dot com. Thanks for listening 727 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:45,000 Speaker 1: and remember that Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe is 728 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:48,600 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcast from 729 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:52,319 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 730 00:39:52,480 --> 00:40:02,600 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.