AaS! 105: Is Everything a Wave or a Particle, and Why Does My Head Hurt?

What are blue straggler stars? How were they first discovered? What do they tell us about star clusters and the evolution of stars? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Suppor...

7 Feb 202335min

Is it possible for anything to travel faster than light? What about tachyons? How would faster-than-light travel break causality? And just what the heck is causality, anyway? I discuss these questions...

17 Jan 202338min

Part 9! What is the role of consciousness in quantum mechanics, if there even is one? Is there any way at all to develop a coherent view of nature based on quantum mechanics? What are the ultimate les...

3 Jan 202331min

Part 8! What is real in quantum mechanics, and what are mere mathematical tricks? Can the probability waves be real, and what would that mean? What is Pilot-Wave theory? I discuss these questions and ...

20 Dec 202240min

Part 7! What is the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics? How does decoherence play a critical role? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this idea? I discuss these questions and more i...

6 Dec 202247min

Part 6! What were Einstein's objections to quantum mechanics? Why was he so bothered by non-locality? What is the EPR paradox? I discuss these questions and more in today's Ask a Spaceman! Support the...

15 Nov 202237min

Part 5! What is the Copenhagen interpretation? How did the debates between Heisenberg and Schrodinger influence later physicists? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the "shut up and calculate" a...

1 Nov 202237min

Part 4! What are the basic lessons of quantum mechanics? What does quantum mechanics teach us about the nature of reality? How does a quantum worldview differ from a classical one? I discuss these que...

18 Okt 202227min