Back to Show
PBS Space Time
Solving the Impossible in Quantum Field Theory
Season 3
Episode 31
The equations of quantum field theory allow us to calculate the behaviour of subatomic particles by expressing them as vibrations in quantum fields. But even the most elegant and complete formulations of quantum physics – like the Dirac equation or Feynman’s path integral - become impossibly complicated when we try to use them on anything but the most simple systems.
Support Provided By
14:20
Gigantic black holes existed in a cosmic eyeblink after the Big Bang. That should be impossible.
15:15
A decade later, a leading theory may finally explain Tabby’s Star, the galaxy’s weirdest star.
16:31
LIGO may have found an impossible black hole, hinting at primordial relics from the Big Bang.
17:40
DESI and DES studied dark energy. Together, what can they tell us?
16:28
Could sending a quantum twin across the galaxy make you both old and young at the same time?
17:39
It's possible that an event horizon is forming right behind and you won't know until its too late.
20:48
Are there no alien signals to find... or do we need to update how we search for them?
14:27
Physicists hope Planck stars can save us from black hole singularities and paradoxes.
17:41
Galaxies older than the universe? Webb's findings keep defying our best explanations.
16:16
Earth's core: solid or liquid? Yes — we know more about distant galaxies than our own interior.
14:42
Gödel found a time-travel solution in General Relativity, revealing spacetime can loop on itself.
18:46
Tardigrades can survive almost anything—even most of Mars. But one Martian chemical stops even them.