Brian Cox

And we can detect that now. So we have detectors that can pick that up. And so we've seen those collisions as well.

And we can detect that now. So we have detectors that can pick that up. And so we've seen those collisions as well.

Oh, millions of light years away.

Oh, millions of light years away.

Oh, millions of light years away.

Yeah, to a tiny extent. So there's an experiment called LIGO, which stands for something like gravitational interferometer. I can't remember exactly what the word is. So basically, it's laser beams. And there's one in Washington State, north of Seattle, and one in Louisiana. And they're laser beams, four-kilometer-long laser beams at right angles.

Yeah, to a tiny extent. So there's an experiment called LIGO, which stands for something like gravitational interferometer. I can't remember exactly what the word is. So basically, it's laser beams. And there's one in Washington State, north of Seattle, and one in Louisiana. And they're laser beams, four-kilometer-long laser beams at right angles.

Yeah, to a tiny extent. So there's an experiment called LIGO, which stands for something like gravitational interferometer. I can't remember exactly what the word is. So basically, it's laser beams. And there's one in Washington State, north of Seattle, and one in Louisiana. And they're laser beams, four-kilometer-long laser beams at right angles.

And they can detect these very tiny shifts in the, effectively, you could say the length of the laser beam. It's a bit more fiddly and complicated. It essentially measures the distortion in space-time caused by these ripples. And it's way less than the diameter of an atomic nucleus, by the way. Way less. These little sort of... Oh, my God.

And they can detect these very tiny shifts in the, effectively, you could say the length of the laser beam. It's a bit more fiddly and complicated. It essentially measures the distortion in space-time caused by these ripples. And it's way less than the diameter of an atomic nucleus, by the way. Way less. These little sort of... Oh, my God.

And they can detect these very tiny shifts in the, effectively, you could say the length of the laser beam. It's a bit more fiddly and complicated. It essentially measures the distortion in space-time caused by these ripples. And it's way less than the diameter of an atomic nucleus, by the way. Way less. These little sort of... Oh, my God.

And so we've started to... We've observed many of those... There it is. There's LIGO. So it's just basically two laser beams, that, but these ultra high precision thing. And so we've got data now of the collision of black holes and those event horizon pictures with radio telescopes. So that's part of it. But the main bit has been theoretical advances in understanding exactly...

And so we've started to... We've observed many of those... There it is. There's LIGO. So it's just basically two laser beams, that, but these ultra high precision thing. And so we've got data now of the collision of black holes and those event horizon pictures with radio telescopes. So that's part of it. But the main bit has been theoretical advances in understanding exactly...

And so we've started to... We've observed many of those... There it is. There's LIGO. So it's just basically two laser beams, that, but these ultra high precision thing. And so we've got data now of the collision of black holes and those event horizon pictures with radio telescopes. So that's part of it. But the main bit has been theoretical advances in understanding exactly...

In a sense, it was what's wrong with Stephen Hawking's calculation, which is a weird thing to say sometimes because people think Stephen Hawking, sure, he didn't get his math wrong. But he did actually. So what he calculated back in 1973, 1974. is that a black hole, so we picture this thing from which nothing can escape, even light. So when you go in, you're gone, basically.

In a sense, it was what's wrong with Stephen Hawking's calculation, which is a weird thing to say sometimes because people think Stephen Hawking, sure, he didn't get his math wrong. But he did actually. So what he calculated back in 1973, 1974. is that a black hole, so we picture this thing from which nothing can escape, even light. So when you go in, you're gone, basically.

In a sense, it was what's wrong with Stephen Hawking's calculation, which is a weird thing to say sometimes because people think Stephen Hawking, sure, he didn't get his math wrong. But he did actually. So what he calculated back in 1973, 1974. is that a black hole, so we picture this thing from which nothing can escape, even light. So when you go in, you're gone, basically.

What he calculated is that even though these things are just a distortion in space and time, that's the description of them. So it's almost as if there's nothing there apart from a distortion in space and time. He calculated that they glow, so they have a temperature of... So they emit radiation. It's called Hawking radiation. And so important was that discovery.

What he calculated is that even though these things are just a distortion in space and time, that's the description of them. So it's almost as if there's nothing there apart from a distortion in space and time. He calculated that they glow, so they have a temperature of... So they emit radiation. It's called Hawking radiation. And so important was that discovery.

What he calculated is that even though these things are just a distortion in space and time, that's the description of them. So it's almost as if there's nothing there apart from a distortion in space and time. He calculated that they glow, so they have a temperature of... So they emit radiation. It's called Hawking radiation. And so important was that discovery.