Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Dr. Ben Tippett and his team of physicists believe that anyone can understand physics. Black Holes! Lightning! Coronal Mass Ejections! Quantum Mechanics! Fortnightly, they explain a topic from advanced physics, using explanations, experiments and fun metaphors to a non-physicist guest. Visit the website to see a list of topics sorted by physics field.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Accessible physics explainers • quantum computing, coherence/decoherence, entanglement, many-worlds • particle physics: neutrinos, muons, strong force, Higgs, sterile neutrinos • cosmology/astro: big bang, CMB, dark matter • black holes, gravitational waves, LIGO/LISA • stars, galaxies, planets, Neptune, Mars life • instruments: interferometry, lasers, CCD/CMOS, NMR/ESR, superconductors, magnetism • materials: glass, phononsThis podcast aims to make advanced physics approachable by pairing a host and expert physicists with a non-physicist guest who asks questions and helps guide the explanation. Across the episodes, the show focuses on modern astronomy, cosmology, particle physics, and quantum mechanics, often connecting abstract concepts to real experiments and instruments.
A major theme is the physics of the universe at its largest scales: how the Big Bang is studied, what the cosmic microwave background can reveal, and what ultimate fates of the universe might look like. Stellar and galactic astrophysics recur frequently, including how stars form, evolve, and end their lives, how galaxies change over time, and how extreme environments around supermassive black holes affect their surroundings. The podcast also explores compact objects and gravitational waves, discussing how collisions and “ringdowns” produce detectable signals and how current and next-generation observatories measure them.
On the small-scale side, episodes delve into quantum ideas such as entanglement, superposition, coherence and decoherence, and interpretations of quantum mechanics, alongside quantum computing. Particle and nuclear physics topics include neutrinos and neutrino beams, possible new particles, the strong force, and open questions about dark matter candidates.
The show also highlights how physicists measure the world, with conversations about interferometry, advanced imaging and detectors, spectroscopy and resonance techniques used in materials science and biology, superconductivity and magnetic effects, and the properties of everyday materials like glass. Overall, the content emphasizes both the underlying concepts and the practical methods scientists use to test them.
