An examination of some more advanced concepts of quantum mechanics, focusing on describing Dirac's bra-ket formulation of quantum theory. I discuss the formulation of quantum mechanics in terms of vectors in Hilbert spaces, Hermitian operators as corresponding to observables, orthogonality of eigenstates, incompatible observables, and Schrodinger's equation. ... Show More
Nov 2025
Episode 156: Fossils and Dating Methods
An introduction to the techniques used to study the history and ages of geological speciments. We begin with an overview of chronostratigraphy, covering principles of relative dating, way up indicators, and biostratigraphy. We then discuss geochronology, including a review of ear ... Show More
1h 10m
Jul 2021
Alyssa Ney, "The World in the Wave Function: A Metaphysics for Quantum Physics" (Oxford UP, 2021)
Quantum mechanics is full of weird findings – for example, that systems widely separated can somehow still be correlated, and that a system may be in two different possible states at the same time. Entanglement and superposition, among other phenomena, have prompted debate since ... Show More
1h 11m
Apr 2021
170. Michio Kaku — The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything
Synthesizing relativity and quantum theory would be the crowning achievement of science, a profound merging of all the forces of nature into one beautiful, magnificent equation to unlock the deepest mysteries in science. In this episode, Michael Shermer speaks with professor of t ... Show More
1h 36m
Jun 2016
Strachey Lecture - Quantum Supremacy
Dr Scott Aaronson (MIT, UT Austin) gives the 2016 Strachey lecture. In the near future, it will likely become possible to perform special-purpose quantum computations that, while not immediately useful for anything, are plausibly hard to simulate using a classical computer. These ... Show More
1h 12m