logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2025
53m 54s

What is Gravity?

THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
About this episode

This episode is a weighty one. Some might say massive. It’s all about gravity. What is it? Why does it matter? Izzie and Dr Becky explore Einstein and Newton’s different ideas on the subject, plus Izzie visits the Royal Society to see Isaac Newton's original manuscript for his works on gravity and the laws of motion.


Special thank you to listener Hanna_m_e for suggesting this episode topic and to Professor Tessa Baker, at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth, and to Keith Moore, head of collections at the Royal Society for appearing on the show.


See THAT coffee table here: https://youtu.be/5XlTkGEO564?si=9Z8KwTqOPk-Sf0xM


If you have a question for the team, or an episode suggestion, send them to podcast@ras.ac.uk or find us on Instagram, @SupermassivePod.


The Supermassive Podcast is a Boffin Media production in partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society. The producers are Izzie Clarke and Richard Hollingham.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Sep 24
Don't Panic…but a solar storm could be a disaster
It's been 166 years since scientists recorded the world's most powerful solar explosion. Izzie, Dr Becky and Dr Robert Massey are big fans of anniversaries, so they investigate how the Carrington Event affected the Earth - and why something similar today could be devastating.Than ... Show More
47m 22s
Sep 9
BONUS - Are we Living in a Black Hole?
What would happen if the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy disappeared? Dr Becky is back to tackle your toughest of black hole questions. Alongside science journalist Izzie Clarke and Dr Robert Massey, the team also discuss what the night sky would look like in ... Show More
14m 3s
Aug 26
Supermassive Q and A...Live!
We are live at the National Astronomy Meeting in Durham with questions on everything from white holes and fuzzy stars, to solar storms and time travel. Science journalist Izzie Clarke is joined by Dr Ziri Younsi – part of the team that took the first picture of a black hole. Also ... Show More
46m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
271 | Claudia de Rham on Modifying General Relativity
Einstein's theory of general relativity has been our best understanding of gravity for over a century, withstanding a variety of experimental challenges of ever-increasing precision. But we have to be open to the possibility that general relativity -- even at the classical level, ... Show More
1h 21m
Aug 2024
Do We Need a New Theory of Gravity?
Since Newton had his initial revelation about gravity, our understanding of this fundamental concept has evolved in unexpected ways. In this week’s episode, theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham and co-host Janna Levin discuss the ways our current understanding of gravity needs t ... Show More
42m 17s
Apr 2023
Theory of everything: do we really need one?
The quest for a theory of everything – explaining all the forces and particles in the universe – is arguably the holy grail of physics. While each of our main theories of physics works extraordinarily well, they also clash with each other. But do we really need a theory of everyt ... Show More
57m 29s
Apr 2024
Tackling The Three-Body Problem
Netflix has a big new show named after and inspired by a classic problem in astrophysics, 'The Three Body Problem', where predicting the course and orbits of three or more celestial bodies proves near impossible.But how faithful is the Netflix show - and original novel - to the a ... Show More
8m 58s
Feb 2025
Cosmic Queries – Stoner Edition with Janna Levin
Is anything real? Is time just a construct? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Matt Kirshen answer your far-out questions about black holes, dark matter, and the universe with astrophysicist Janna Levin. (Originally Aired Tuesday, March 8 2022)NOTE: StarTalk+ ... Show More
49m 12s
Feb 2025
Quantum Birds
Annie McEwen went to a mountain in Pennsylvania to help catch some migratory owls. Then Scott Weidensaul peeled back the owl’s feathery face disc, so that she could look at the back of its eyeball. No owls were harmed in the process, but this brief glimpse into the inner workings ... Show More
34m 44s
Jan 2023
ImmunoTea Episode 1 - IL-17 and Neurological Autoimmunity
On this episode Lara and Vyanka talk to Prof Kingston Mills and Dr Anastasia Zekeridou all about IL-17 and and neurological autoimmunity. This is ImmunoTea: Your Immunology Podcast, presented by Dr Lara Dungan and Dr Vyanka Redenbaugh. This is the show where we tell you all about ... Show More
50m 30s
Apr 2025
Stellar Microbes, Titan's Mysteries & the Quest for Life Beyond Earth
This episode of Space Nuts is brought you with the support of Saily. If you love travelling, you need Saily by your side. To find out more and get the special Space Nuts listener discount, visit www.saily.com/spacenuts pace Nuts Episode 513: Microbial Life in Space, Titan's Secre ... Show More
37m 33s
May 2017
100. Neil deGrasse Tyson (Astrophysicist) – The Only "-ist" I Am
Since 2008, Big Think has been sharing big ideas from creative and curious minds. Since 2015, the Think Again podcast has been taking us out of our comfort zone, surprising our guests and Jason Gots, your host, with unexpected conversation starters from Big Think’s interview arch ... Show More
47m 31s