What Does the Fourth Dimension Actually ...

People may think of soil as just dirt, but it is anything but inert. Beneath your feet, a vast network of mycorrhizal fungi is hard at work, trading minerals with plant roots. This trading system helps enrich the soil, and it sequesters 13 billion tons of atmospheric carbon dioxi ... Show More

Quantum mechanics may be one of the most precisely tested paradigms in science, but there’s still no universally accepted interpretation of what it tells us about reality. How do we get from the wave-like behavior of quantum systems to the solid, macroscopic world of objects and ... Show More

Mathematicians are witnessing a profound shift in their field. AI systems are now producing proofs, spotting connections between distant fields, and, in a few cases, solving problems that had stumped mathematicians for decades. The pace of progress over the past several months ha ... Show More

A satellite spotted a burst of light just as gravitational waves rolled in from the collision of two black holes. Was the flash a cosmic coincidence, or do astrophysicists need to rethink what black holes can do? <p>The post <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/after-black-hol ... Show More

<p><span>Giant black holes were supposed to be bit players in the early cosmic story. But recent James Webb Space Telescope observations are finding an unexpected abundance of the beasts. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Light Gazing” by Andrew Langdon.</span></p> 

Researchers, using the galaxy as a detector, believe they have detected gravitational waves from monster black holes for the first time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 

Did you know that you can HEAR Black Holes colliding out in space? It's true! Scientists have discovered that by listening to gravitational waves, they can actually hear a black hole, billions of miles away, colliding with another one. Don't miss this awesome chat with Dr. Eric T ... Show More

<p><span>A recent gamma-ray burst known as the BOAT — “brightest of all time” — appears to have produced a high-energy particle that shouldn’t exist. For some, dark matter provides the explanation. Read more at QuantaMagazine.org. Music is “Pulse” by Geographer.</span></p> 

In trying to explain the spectacular star trails of the star cluster Palomar 5, astronomers stumbled on a very large trove of black holes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 

Black holes are one of the most beguiling objects in our universe. What are they exactly? How do they affect the universe? And what would it be like to fall into one? We venture beyond the point of no return with Yale astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan, into a fascinating world ... Show More

<p>What happens when three black holes collide? On this episode, Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice explore even more cosmic collisions in space, in the quantum realm, and more!</p><p>NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can watch or listen to this entire episode commercial-free ... Show More