The Great Unanswered Questions of Physics

De: Don Lincoln, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Don Lincoln

What happened before the Big Bang? Why does time flow only forward? Do we live as part of a multiverse? Could the universe vanish in an instant? These questions and more are at the forefront of physics, cosmology, and quantum theory, and they keep some of the best minds of modern physicists awake at night.

The Great Unanswered Questions of Physics gives you the chance to probe these mysteries of the universe. Taught by Dr. Don Lincoln, an esteemed particle physicist and a senior researcher at Fermilab, these 24 captivating lectures delve into some of the most vexing cosmic and quantum puzzles. From the strange behavior of subatomic particles to the enigmas of supermassive black holes at the center of a galaxy, Dr. Lincoln blends engaging storytelling with rigorous science, putting you in the driver’s seat of cutting-edge research and the unanswerable, even untestable questions of 21st-century physics.

Bringing his decades of real-world expertise to your living room, Dr. Lincoln unravels challenging concepts, guides you through a scientist’s approach to experiments and measurement, and explores some of the tantalizing hypotheses that may explain the mathematical code that underlies our reality. Among other riveting questions, he addresses:

· Cosmic background radiation and other clues to the size and shape of our universe

· The nature and whereabouts of dark matter, dark energy, and antimatter, all of which are predicted but unverified

· The formation and properties of stars, galaxies, black holes, and other cosmic phenomena

· Quantum mechanics, quantum gravity, superstring theory, and the elusive search for a unifying “theory of everything”

As much as the “what” of these enigmas, Dr. Lincoln delivers the “how.” You’ll learn to think like a scientist as you walk through the business of theorizing, testing, rethinking, and testing again. Many of these unanswered questions will not be answered in our lifetime, but as you will see, the joy of scientific inquiry is in the journey, not the destination.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 The Great Courses (P)2025 The Teaching Company, LLC