Quantum Physics in a Mirror Universe episode artwork

EPISODE · Sep 14, 2026 · 22 MIN

Quantum Physics in a Mirror Universe

from PBS Space Time · host PBS

To learn to think like a scientist check out http://Brilliant.org/SpaceTime PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE Check out the new Space Time Merch Store! https://pbsspacetime.com/ When you look in mirror, and see what you think is a perfect reflection. You might be looking at universe whose laws are fundamentally different. You can further support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime Tweet at us! @pbsspacetime Facebook: facebook.com/pbsspacetime Email us! pbsspacetime [at] gmail [dot] com Comment on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/pbsspacetime Help translate our videos! https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_... Previous Episode: Did Life on Earth Come from Space? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REl20rlZGTw Hosted by Matt O'Dowd Written by Graeme Gossel & Matt O'Dowd Graphics by Luke Maroldi Assistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike Petrow Made by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com) When we think about symmetry, the first thing that comes to mind is mirror symmetry. Butterflies, Rorschach tests, and classically attractive faces all look the same when flipped left-to-right. In physics, a symmetry is when the laws of physics are unchanged due to some transformation of coordinates. We’ve seen examples where it is - the universe is symmetric to coordinate shifts in space, time, and even the rather abstract phase of the wave function. So it might be surprising to learn that with all the weird ways in which the universe IS symmetric, it’s NOT entirely symmetric under this most intuitive one. The laws of physics work differently in the universe of the mirror. Special thanks to our Patreon Big Bang, Quasar and Hypernova Supporters: Big Bang David Nicklas CoolAsCats Anton Lifshits Fabrice Eap Justin Lloyd Juan Benet Quasar Tambe Barsbay Mark Rosenthal Dean Fuqua James Flowers Vinnie Falco Hypernova Chuck Zegar Jordan Young Joseph Salomone John Hofmann Matthew O’Connor Edmund Fokschaner Donal Botkin Danton Spivey Mark Heising Thanks to our Patreon Gamma Ray Burst Supporters: Alexey Eromenko Brandon Cook Brandon Labonte Carlo Mogavero Daniel Lyons David Crane Dustan Jones Greg Weiss Jack Frosch James Hughes James Quintero JJ Bagnell John Webber Jinal Doshi Jon Folks Joseph Emison Josh Thomas Kenneth F Leonard Kevin Warne Malte Ubl Mark Vasile Nathan Hitchings Nicholas Rose Nick Virtue Ratfeast Richard Broman Scott Gossett Shawn Azman Tim Stephani Tommy Mogensen سلطان الخليفي Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 14, 2026

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Quantum Physics in a Mirror Universe

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