45 min listen
Could 'counterfactuals' solve the biggest problems in physics?
FromInstant Genius
ratings:
Length:
29 minutes
Released:
May 17, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Most laws of physics tell us what must happen. Throw a ball in the air and it will come back down. But physicist Chiara Marletto, a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, says that laws like this only tell us part of the story.She believes that the rest lies in 'counterfactuals': things that could be.In her new book, The Science of Can and Can’t (£20, Allen Lane), she explains how these counterfactual properties could solve many of science’s biggest outstanding problems.Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.Subscribe to the Science Focus Podcast on these services: Acast, iTunes, Sticher, RSS, OvercastListen to more episodes of the Science Focus Podcast:Prof Avi Loeb on what 'Oumuamua tells us about the problem with modern physicsMarcus Chown: Does the Big Bang really explain our Universe?Dr Douglas Vakoch: Should we try to contact aliens?Katie Mack: How will the Universe end?Sonia Contera: How will nanotechnology revolutionise medicine?Everything You Wanted To Know About… Physics with Jim Al-Khalili Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Released:
May 17, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Psychosis, realism and video games: In the first half of this episode we ask Dr Stephen Hall, a climate and infrastructure researcher, whether the 2040 petrol and diesel car ban will really clean up the air we breathe. In the second part, we talk to neuroscientist Professor Paul Fletcher... by Instant Genius