Skip to main content

Up Next

How To Become an Astrophysicist

How To Become an Astrophysicist

Season 5 Episode 30
12:45
Is Earth's Magnetic Field Reversing?

Is Earth's Magnetic Field Reversing?

Season 5 Episode 31
12:46
Could We Terraform Mars?

Could We Terraform Mars?

Season 5 Episode 32
15:33
Is Pluto a Planet?

Is Pluto a Planet?

Season 5 Episode 33
14:03
How Many Universes Are There?

How Many Universes Are There?

Season 5 Episode 34
14:03
Black Hole Harmonics

Black Hole Harmonics

Season 5 Episode 35
13:11
Loop Quantum Gravity Explained

Loop Quantum Gravity Explained

Season 5 Episode 36
13:49
Is Time Travel Impossible?

Is Time Travel Impossible?

Season 5 Episode 37
12:33
Why We Might Be Alone in the Universe

Why We Might Be Alone in the Universe

Season 5 Episode 38
12:24
Does Life Need a Multiverse to Exist?

Does Life Need a Multiverse to Exist?

Season 5 Episode 39
13:09
Can You Observe a Typical Universe?

Can You Observe a Typical Universe?

Season 5 Episode 40
13:36
Is The Universe Finite?

Is The Universe Finite?

Season 5 Episode 41
12:25
Back to Show
PBS Space Time

What Happened Before the Big Bang?

Season 5 Episode 29

We define the Big Bang as the extremely hot, dense, rapidly expanding universe that is described by Einstein’s equations. That picture of the universe is very solid down to about a trillionth of a second after the supposed beginning of time. We can make good guesses down to about 10^-30th of a second. But before that?

Support Provided By
Season
Can the Universe Remember? Exploring Gravitational Memory
11:43
Gravitational tsunamis exist and we’re on the verge of being able to detect them.
How Can Humanity Become a Kardashev Type 1 Civilization?
18:40
Will we ever become a Kardeshev Type-1 civilization and how can we get there?
Do Neutron Stars Shine In Dark Matter?
14:05
New data is telling us that Neutron stars may make one of the most popular dark matter candidates.
What If the Cosmological Constant Is Not Constant?
15:14
Is Dark Energy Getting Weaker?
What If The Universe Did Not Start With The Big Bang?
16:08
Here’s the story we like to tell about the beginning of the universe.
The New Physics of Black Hole Star Capture | Extreme Tidal Disruption Events
17:44
We’ve never seen a TDE in the Milky Way, but we’ve seen them in distant galaxies.
Can We Test Quantum Gravity?
16:51
Let’s talk about quantum gravity experiments that can be done here on Earth!
Is Gravity RANDOM Not Quantum?
19:25
What if gravity isn’t weirdly quantum at all, but rather … just a bit messy?
Can We Create New Elements Beyond the Periodic Table
17:02
Have we reached the end of the line of discoverable elements?
Do Black Holes Have to Be Black?
15:32
Can we change the color of a black hole?
Was Penrose Right? New Evidence For Quantum Effects In The Brain
18:26
Learn about Nobel laureate Roger Penrose's idea of how consciousness is caused by quantum processes.
How To Detect Faster Than Light Travel
16:28
Faster than light travel may produce gravitational waves that we could see here on Earth.
Active loading indicator