Back to Show
PBS Space Time
What If The Speed of Light is Not Constant?
Season 9
Episode 19
One of the most fundamental physics facts is that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant for all observers. But can we really be sure? In fact, variable speed of light theories have long been used to try to explain everything from dark energy to gravity itself. Let’s explore how constant this fundamental constant really is.
Support Provided By
15:58
Did you know that many of us have up to 4% neanderthal DNA?
19:39
Why are billions suddenly being pumped into fusion startups?
16:36
The universe should've collapsed after the Big Bang, but a light Higgs boson let us exist.
18:32
Dark matter has eluded us for many decades but we may be able to discover more now.
15:35
What do you get if you combine something that’s infinitely massive and negative infinitely massive?
16:35
Is there a limit to how much energy you can cram into, or pull out of one patch of space?
11:43
Gravitational tsunamis exist and we’re on the verge of being able to detect them.
18:40
Will we ever become a Kardeshev Type-1 civilization and how can we get there?