PODCAST · science
Quirkcast
by Quirkcast
Quirkcast is a biweekly (subject to change) online podcast that breaks down complex science topics to a wide audience. Hosted by Tim Lou, Saahil Shenoy, and Michael Park, we aim to advance scientific awareness and broaden public interest in science. As former academic researchers turned science advocates, we hope you enjoy our podcast as much as we do!
Episodes
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Deciphering the Cosmic Code: How Spacetime is a Self-Correcting Quantum Computer
Einstein's theory of relativity gives us a smooth and organized way to think about the universe, like a well-arranged blueprint. On the other hand, quantum physics is more like a jumble of noise and unpredictability, making it hard to fit into that neat blueprint. So, how do we make sense of…
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Entropy and the Inevitable Messiness of Existence
Life possesses a superpower: the ability to seemingly defy the second law of thermodynamics – the unstoppable rise of entropy. From skyscrapers to poetry, life can evolve and create ever-more complex structures, apparently bringing order out of chaos and challenging the universe's entropy…
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Bosons vs Fermions: The Yin and Yang of Particles
Welcome to another episode of Quirkcast, where we take a look at the dichotomy of two types of fundamental particles: bosons vs fermions. Today, we'll explore how these particles types play a crucial role in shaping the stability of matter, influencing the dynamics of chemistry, and the...
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Is the Photon Truly Massless?
In this episode of our podcast, we delve into a question that has puzzled scientists and enthusiasts alike: Does a photon, the particle of light, have mass? Join us as we illuminate the intriguing physics behind light, journeying from the basics of electromagnetic waves to the cutting-edge of...
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Harmony in Equations: The Elegant Symmetries of Physics
Join us on Quirkcast for a casual exploration of the intriguing world of symmetries in physics. We'll chat about how these fundamental principles play a role in everything, from the tiniest particles to the vast structures of the universe. Discover the beauty of symmetrical patterns in nature and...
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Parallel Reflections: Exploring the Physics of Mirror Universes
Welcome to our episode on mirror universes. We'll be discussing how our universe might have a mirror image, flipping things around in a kind of cosmic reflection. We'll explore the idea of particles having mirror versions (parity), transforming into opposites (charge conjugation), and even going...
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Quantum Shadows: Unveiling the Enigma of Virtual Particles
In this captivating episode of Quirkcast, we delve into the elusive world of virtual particles, the ghostly entities that flicker in and out of existence in the quantum realm. Join us as we unravel the mysteries of these theoretical particles, fundamental to understanding the forces and...
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What is particle spin?
Newton's law says that objects keep moving unless something stops them. This also applies to objects spinning around. Usually, things need to have a shape to spin, like a ball or a top. But in the world of tiny particles in quantum physics, even things without a shape, like fundamental particles,...
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The Worst Particle (from The Standard Model)?
The particles in our Universe do a lot of things, without them the Universe would not be the way it is today. However, amongst the known particles, some are more helpful than others. Find out which particle is the worst from a subjective (theoretical) perspective, and also through the lens of our...
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The 3 Phases of Forces
We've all heard of the 3 phases of matter, but what about forces? It turns out, fundamental forces can have different phases just like matter. Like matter, these phases can and do change as external influences like temperature changes. In our Universe, all 3 phases are utilized by our fundamental...
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The Nuclear Warden: Gluon
What keeps our nuclei stuck together? It's the somewhat less well-known particle, gluon. They reason we don't see it very much is because it is doing a superb job at jail-keeping its nuclear constituents. Gluons' peculiar abilities to keep things together may also provide us unlimited clean…
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The Unstoppable Particle: Graviton
What is the one particle that cannot be stopped? The answer would have to be the graviton. While the graviton interacts with everything, it also passes through everything mostly unscathed. This unique property makes graviton one of the greatest messengers of the Universe. Visit...
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What the Higgs Boson is: A Keystone Particle (Not the God's Particle)
The God's particle is a misnomer in particle physics: The Higgs Boson doesn't participate very much in the creation of our Universe. A more proper title for the Higgs Boson would be the Keystone particle, as it is the key that sets the interaction strength and relevant energies in our Universe....
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The Loneliest Particle
In this special Valentine Day's episode, we’ll introduce what may be considered the loneliest particles in the Universe -- magnetic monopoles, if it exists. Indeed, on this very same day in 1982, Prof. Blas Cabrera uncovered a potential signal for such a lonely wanderer. Unfortunately the…
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Going Beyond Particles: Fields
In particle physics, particles aren't necessarily the most important object. It turns out, physicists really are interested in the concept of fields, which will be the focus of this episode. Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord: https://discord.gg/7c6myZ8Z
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Why Particles are Doomed
If there's anything that could last forever, it might be fundamental particles. However, even that may not be true. In fact, particles can and do lose their identity over time, and their existence may ultimately be doomed. Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord: https://discord.gg/7c6myZ8Z
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Heat Death is Not the End
It has been widely popularized that our Universe will end in a heat death, where all interesting activities will cease. But is this really what will happen? With the inclusion of quantum physics, it turns out that heat death may not be so deadly after-all. In fact, there can still be interesting...
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How Time is Weird in the Quantum Realm
Unlike the ordinary time we experience, time in quantum systems behave rather differently. From unitarity to quantum recurrence, we explore just how weird quantum times can be, and how our macroscopic notion of time can merge from such a drastically different notion of quantum time. Visit...
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When Does Time End?
While time seems to always flow forward, is it ever possible for it to end? As it turns out, there might be more than just one ending. Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord: https://discord.gg/7c6myZ8Z
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Can Time Flow Backward?
If our laws of physics look symmetrical both forward and backward in time, is it then possible to have time flow backward instead of forward? What would our world look like it the flow of time does change? From the big bang to anti-particles, we explore the physics behind the reversal of the flow...
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Does Consciousness Create Time?
Out of the 4 spacetime dimensions, time is the only dimension that always seems to go forward. What is the ultimate cause of this phenomenon and what does that have to do with consciousness and fundamental forces? Find out in this episode Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord:...
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Is Entropy Disorder?
Entropy is often linked to chaos and disorder, but what is it really, and why do we need to involve quantum physics? In this episode we'll explore fully just what entropy is measuring and dispel some common myths. Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord: https://discord.gg/7c6myZ8Z
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Fusion Ignition Breakthrough: Reality or Hype?
The Department of Energy recently announced a breakthrough in fusion science research https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-n... So how much of this is reality vs hype? How far away are we still from achieving fusion energy? Find out what the physics is about in this episode. Visit...
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Is Physics Discovered or Invented?
Our understand of the physical world is based on abstract mathematics and equations, but how much of that is invented vs discovered? The answer isn't as obvious as what you might think... Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord: https://discord.gg/7c6myZ8Z
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Did a Quantum Computer Create a Wormhole?
A recent paper on nature https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158... announced the first quantum computer simulation of a wormhole like objects. This leads to many popular science article to proclaim that wormholes have been discovered. So how much of the news is fact or fiction? We'll find out in...
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Should there be a Theory of Everything
Even though physics is ultimately an experiment driven discipline, physical theories are often discovered well before experimental validations. Without experiments, how do physicists decide what to focus on then? The answer comes down to the notion of beauty. How do we judge the beauty of a…
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How Black Holes' Rings is a Real Life Hologram
The Horizon telescope has captured the first ever image of a black hole. (ref: https://eventhorizontelescope.org/) Within the picture, there may be a hint of a so called photon ring. New research has shown some hint that this photon ring may be part of a hologram structure that could capture a...
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Entanglement Explained: 2022 Physics Nobel
2022 Nobel prize was awarded to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger. But just what exactly were their achievements? In this episode, we'll explore the details in an accessible way, from entanglement to bell's inequality. Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord:...
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Spacetime is a Circuit
Spacetime may be a Quantum Circuit!
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Why Spacetime is Doomed
Black hole is a testing ground for the structure of spacetime, but it turns out that when we include quantum physics, the concept of spacetime itself is doomed. In this episode we'll explore why space is doomed, and what should be its replacement. Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord:...
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Is There Anything Inside a Black Hole?
If objects that fall inside a blackhole can never escape, how do we know if the inside exists or not? Quantum physics suggests that perhaps the black hole's interior may not exist at all from an observer outside. This complementarity principle, along with other interesting behaviors of black…
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What is the Ultimate source of Randomness?
There are lots of uncertainties in our world. However, many of the uncertainties are caused by our ignorance and not considered true randomness. Quantum physics is usually depicted as the ultimate source of uncertainty in our world. However, quantum physics itself does not contain any...
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Why the Universe is Inevitably a Hologram
Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/ Discord: https://discord.gg/7c6myZ8Z
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How to Interpret Quantum Physics?
Quantum physics is often portrayed as this mysterious realm of the subatomic with little relevance to real life. Part of the confusion is due to the multitude of complicated "interpretations" quantum physics carries. In this episode we'll demystified this confusion and show how quantum physics is...
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The Most Sacred Laws of Physics
This this first episode of our Quantum Physics Demystified Series, we'll discuss what is often touted as the most sacred laws of all: the preservation of quantum information. Here we describe what it means and how it related to our everyday experience. Along the way we'll explain technical…
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Where does Spacetime come from?
Aired: 2021-12-07 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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Can you prove Einstein wrong?
Aired: 2021-11-30 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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Is String Theory useless?
Aired: 2021-11-23 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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Why doesn't the world look quantum mechanical?
Aired: 2021-11-16 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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Do perfect circles exist?
Aired: 2021-11-9 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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Where do we find symmetry in Nature?
Aired: 2021-11-2 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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Did the Universe Happen by Accident?
Aired: 2021-10-26 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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Why Isn't the Universe Empty?
Aired: 2021-10-19 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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Is Time an Illusion?
Aired: 2021-10-12 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit http://www.quirkcast.org/
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How to Move Faster than the Speed of Light?
Aired: 2021-10-05 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit https://www.quirkcast.org/
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How to Teleport Through Spacetime?
Aired: 2021-09-28 5 pm PT/8 pm ET Visit https://www.quirkcast.org/
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Is the Universe a Hologram?
Aired 2021-09-21 5 pm PT/ 8 pm ET Visit https://www.quirkcast.org/
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Is Spacetime Made of Wormholes
Aired 2021-09-21 5 pm PT/ 8 pm ET Visit https://www.quirkcast.org/
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How to Escape a Black Hole?
Aired 2021-09-14 5 pm PT/ 8 pm ET Visit https://www.quirkcast.org/
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How Will the Microbiome Change the World?
Aired: 2021-08-10 5 pm PT/ 8 pm ET Visit: https://www.quirkcast.org/
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Quirkcast is a biweekly (subject to change) online podcast that breaks down complex science topics to a wide audience. Hosted by Tim Lou, Saahil Shenoy, and Michael Park, we aim to advance scientific awareness and broaden public interest in science. As former academic researchers turned science advocates, we hope you enjoy our podcast as much as we do!
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Quirkcast
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Quirkcast have?
Quirkcast currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Quirkcast about?
Quirkcast is a biweekly (subject to change) online podcast that breaks down complex science topics to a wide audience. Hosted by Tim Lou, Saahil Shenoy, and Michael Park, we aim to advance scientific awareness and broaden public interest in science. As former academic researchers turned science...
How often does Quirkcast release new episodes?
Quirkcast has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Quirkcast?
You can listen to Quirkcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Quirkcast?
Quirkcast is created and hosted by Quirkcast.
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