2023's Biggest Breakthroughs in Physics

In 2023, physicists found the gravitational wave background that’s made by supermassive black hole collisions, teleported quantum energy in the lab, and puzzled over JWST’s potentially cosmology-breaking discoveries.

00:05 Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves
When galaxies collide, their supermassive central black holes merge — a smashup so violent that it shakes the very fabric of space-time itself. In June, multiple international collaborations announced that they had found the resulting gravitational waves that alter the apparent rhythm of pulsars.

04:23 Quantum Energy Teleportation
A quantum energy teleportation protocol was proposed in 2008 and largely ignored. Now two independent experiments have shown that it works, effectively borrowing energy from a distant location and thus violating no sacred physical principles.

08:46 Discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope
The first round of big results from observations made by the James Webb Telescope were released this year, including observations of light from galaxies that glowed some 300 million years after the Big Bang and an abundance of supermassive black holes.

[OculusGame]

I could watch these discoveries literally non-stop, what a blessing it is to have been born in such a fascinating timeline.

[chucknorris]

We are living in times that in a few centuries will be seen as crucial for humanity

[egeonursen]

Love that I can get up to date physics information like this

[paulmeyer]

This is all so exciting to an old guy like me who earned his physics degree in 1978! Thanks for sharing and explaining the physics so well!

[john.omeara]

There was a small mistake at 1:30. The speaker said "you have to go to much much lower wavelengths" However, in the video, it pans to bigger wavelengths. The speaker probably meant to say lower frequency, as frequency and wavelength are inversely correlated. Great video nonetheless!

[jamesbuckley]

The animations in this video were fantastic. Props to whoever made those.

[artificialcode]

The quantum energy teleportation is mind blowing!!!

[AndreTJones]

I can’t wait to finish my degree in physics. As an undergrad. It seems a long way from now for me to be able to do research like this.

[GeoDasher]

I like how y'all keep up with the modern standards. Less and less people are now reading magazines and the such but these videos are the perfect evolution to that. I love them!

[saimaddali]

I look forward to these every year and its one of my favorite things to do during Christmas

[Am]

Feynman speculated once that maths might not end up being the language in which to articulate a theory of everything. I took that quote seriously and ended up overwhelmed. It’s a picture of the universe in terms of concepts, analogy and primarily inductive science. But the key to studying it is not letting bulls*t into your calculations, which is exactly what Physicists have to do all day, too.

[asatorftw]

Videos like this give me hope. Even though I can't grasp any of the underlying principles (as a non physicist) its great to see we are having some progress in the eternal search for answers.

[JuliusKhoo]

God bless these channels. Please never stop with these. They are unendingly fascinating and tells us the continuing story of humanity.

[grimaffiliations]

That second story should be a way bigger deal

[gianni_ivi]

beautiful

the second almost made me cry for the playful inventivness
the third made me remember how beautiful science is
the first made me ohm

[Excalibur]

I love these year-end summaries, keep up the great content

[trashman]

Im so happy i found this video since im currently working on a research paper on gravitational waves, so this is great to get the sparks going

[momothain]

Forgetting how cool we’re finding our universe to be, this video, the teaching, and the visuals are all so amazing thank you

[maiteshmoo]

Just discovered this channel, what a treat!

[InXLsisDeo]

Quanta Magazine, you are doing a much needed scientific journalism that is accessible enough for the layman.

While other channels do a great job. at explaining some major concepts of science, few inform us with the latest research. You fill that gap and we are grateful for that.