Skip to main content
Back to Show
PBS Space Time

Are Cosmic Strings Cracks in the Universe?

Season 8 Episode 7

Reality has cracks in it. Universe-spanning filaments of ancient Big Bang energy, formed from topological defects in the quantum fields, aka cosmic strings. They have subatomic thickness but prodigious mass and they lash through space at a close to the speed of light. They could be the most bizarre undiscovered entities that actually exist.

Sign up now for inspiring and thought-provoking media delivered straight to your inbox.
Support Provided By
Season
Is There A Simple Solution To The Fermi Paradox?
18:50
Does this also explain why there are no aliens?
Quantum Energy Teleportation is Real!
16:58
Quantum energy teleportation may be as close as we get to transporter beams. But how close is that?
Why Didn’t Antimatter Destroy The Universe?
14:50
Why is there any matter in the universe? A new antimatter breakthrough at LHC holds clues.
New Evidence: Earth Had Rings (and Might Regain Them)
16:30
There’s an extremely good chance that Earth once did have a ring system.
How Astrophysics Can Literally Save the World
17:23
How is it possible to tell if a space rock will one day collide with the Earth?
Your DNA's Codes Are (Probably) From Outer Space
15:58
Did you know that many of us have up to 4% neanderthal DNA?
Will The Big Bang Happen Again (and Again)?
16:35
What if the Big Bang was just an endless cycle?
The Final Barrier to (Nearly) Infinite Energy
19:39
Why are billions suddenly being pumped into fusion startups?
The Crisis in Physics: Why the Higgs Boson Should Not Exist!
16:36
The universe should've collapsed after the Big Bang, but a light Higgs boson let us exist.
Does Timescapes Disprove Dark Energy?
14:30
Maybe dark energy doesn't exist?
How Many Black Holes Are In The Solar System?
18:32
Dark matter has eluded us for many decades but we may be able to discover more now.
Does Infinity - Infinity = an Electron
15:35
What do you get if you combine something that’s infinitely massive and negative infinitely massive?
Active loading indicator