PBS Space Time

The Crisis in Physics: Why the Higgs Boson Should Not Exist!

Quantum physics predicts the universe should’ve collapsed right after the Big Bang, because all particles were immeasurably heavier. Yet it obviously didn’t. Observations confirm this puzzle, and experiments at the Large Hadron Collider still haven’t explained why. At its core is the lightness of the Higgs boson, part of the “hierarchy problem,” which many call physics’ biggest unsolved mystery.

The Crisis in Physics: Why the Higgs Boson Should Not Exist!

16m 36s

  • How Astrophysics Can Literally Save the World: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    How Astrophysics Can Literally Save the World

    S10 E37 - 17m 23s

    Giant space rocks are definitely going to hit the Earth again. We actually do know how to deflect them, but only if we find them and correctly assess their risk. But the solar system is a chaotic place. How is it even possible to tell if a space rock will one day collide with the Earth?

  • Your DNA's Codes Are (Probably) From Outer Space: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Your DNA's Codes Are (Probably) From Outer Space

    S10 E36 - 15m 58s

    Did you know that many of us have up to 4% neanderthal DNA? And that 100% of your DNA may come from outer space? No joke. The biochemistry that defined the coding system of your DNA may have happened off-world, and perhaps even long before Earth existed.

  • Will The Big Bang Happen Again (and Again)?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Will The Big Bang Happen Again (and Again)?

    S10 E35 - 16m 35s

    How did the universe begin? How can something come from nothing? One way to “solve” this most difficult of philosophical conundrums is to avoid it altogether. Maybe the universe didn’t begin. Maybe the Big Bang was just one in an endless cycle.

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