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Entropy
Known as the "past hypothesis" problem, the Universe's initially low entropy has long puzzled scientists. Now, cosmic inflation solves it.
Nothing lives forever, at least, not in the known Universe. But relativity allows us to get closer than ever: from a physics perspective.
A new framework suggests that bursts of neural chaos could be the fingerprints of a conscious mind at work.
1hr 19mins
Theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili explores why our sense of time may be incredibly misleading, including the idea that past, present, and future might all exist at once.
Quantum entanglement links information between particles across space and time. So what happens when one of them falls into a black hole?
Many reactions emit energy, often in large amounts, but cosmic efficiency is another metric altogether. Here's how to maximize your output.
Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.
The overlooked reason why "AI consciousness" isn't coming anytime soon.
Black holes encode information on their surfaces, but evaporate away into Hawking radiation. Is that information preserved, and if so, how?
In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?
The passage of time is something we all experience, as it takes us from one moment to the next. But could it all just be an illusion?
Our thermodynamic arrow of time explains why the entropy of any isolated system always increases. But it can't explain what we perceive.
7mins
“We could be wrong. But if we are right, it’s profoundly important.” Leading mineralogist Dr. Robert Hazen on the missing law of nature that could explain why life emerges.
John Templeton Foundation
The future belongs to complexity.
The expanding Universe, in many ways, is the ultimate out-of-equilibrium system. After enough time passes, will we eventually get there?
6mins
Physicist Sean Carroll on entropy, complexity, and the origins of life:
The most common element in the Universe, vital for forming new stars, is hydrogen. But there's a finite amount of it; what if we run out?
A recent study suggests that exposure to visual stimuli can diminish the effects of psychedelic drugs.
In all the Universe, only a few particles are eternally stable. The photon, the quantum of light, has an infinite lifetime. Or does it?
The second law of thermodynamics tells us that entropy always increases. But that doesn't mean it was zero at the start of the Big Bang.
The second law of thermodynamics is an inviolable law of reality. Here's what everyone should know about closed, open, and isolated systems.
The matter that creates black holes won't be what comes out when they evaporate. Will the black hole information paradox ever be solved?
When it comes to predicting the energy of empty space, the two leading theories disagree by a factor of 100 googol quintillion.
Probability, lacking solid theoretical foundations and burdened with paradoxes, was jokingly called the “theory of misfortune.”
Sun-like stars live for around 10 billion years, but our Universe is only 13.8 billion years old. So what's the maximum lifetime for a star?
42mins
Sabine Hossenfelder talks about Albert Einstein, dead grandmothers, the physics of aging, and more in this full interview with Big Think.
How do physicists solve a problem like entropy?
Epigenetic entropy shows that you can’t fully understand cancer without mathematics.
5mins
Why does time move forward but not backward? Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder explains.
7mins
How the Big Bang gave us time, explained by theoretical physicist.