33 Subatomic Stories: Does the multiverse exist?

One of the great unanswered questions of science is why the laws of the universe seem so carefully tuned to allow for the existence of stars, galaxies, and even humans. Scientists, philosophers, and even theologians have long mulled over this mystery. In this episode of Subatomic Stories, Fermilab’s Dr. Don Lincoln talks about the multiverse, which is a highly speculative possible answer to the question.

What the heck is a multiverse?

Do we live in a multiverse?

Big Mysteries: The Higgs Mass

Fermilab physics 101:

Fermilab home page:

[georgel]

Probably the best series on youtube right now. The fact that we can ask a noted physicist any question we want for free doesn't get nealy enough appreciation.

[richard]

How refreshing that a scientist can humbly and honestly discuss intelligent design without bias or prejudice. He presents the theory, shows how it would fit/solve the observed data, but then provides the caveat that it's inherently unverifiable with science and so the truly "scientific" thing is not to dismiss it, ridicule it, or reject it, but simply to move on and focus on applying the science where we can. Science is an incredible and powerful tool but is impotent and useless in the face of moral, philosophical, or religious questions. It's like praising the success of you axe, which truthfully has helped you to achieve a great deal, to the point where you insist on using it to drink water with. It's just an entirely different form of thinking/reasoning.

[DurinSBane-zhhj]

"High energy means small sizes" This is best demonstrated after Thanksgiving dinner, where your mass has increased but your energy is near zero

[BestBFam]

These episodes are so wonderful to watch.

[some_random_loser]

Love this series, and love this episode on the multiverse. I noticed that you didn't mention anything about the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Physics. Is that a deliberate omission, because they're very different ideas? Are there ways that MW and the multiverse are related to one another?

[foldr]

Hi Don, great video as always. You often say that physics is everything. Do you think that one day we will be able to explain the origins of consciousness and subjective experiences using particle physics?

[michaelblacktree]

The Mr. Multiverse shirt gave me a chuckle. 😄

[Simbosan]

“This is rather as if you imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in — an interesting hole I find myself in — fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!'

[XMarKusKnightX]

I noticed you have a copy of Parker's "The Roman Legions" on your shelf. It's one of my favorites!

In Hawking et. al.'s paper "A Smooth Exit from Eternal Inflation, " Hawking mentions that the early inflationary period might have been part of a cluster of similar expansions of several other universes, and that we could detect evidence of this in the CMB. If so, what sort of evidence would we look for? Something like the Cold Spot, or another feature that's more subtle?

[coderpunksanonymousgroup]

Someday show us your t-shirt collection. It is always the first thing I look for.

[markadams]

I never took a physics class so most of your videos are over my head, but the curiosity is still there. Are there any web sites your might recommend to get a more basic understanding of physics, more specifically, particle physics?

[DM-gqev]

Dr. Don, during the Q&A section of your videos, would you pick one book from the shelf behind you and give us a 30 second review? Great videos, keep up the great work!!

[renatow.]

Hi, thanks for your great channel. I was under the impression that the idea of a multiverse was first proposed by Eugene Wigner as a possible interpretation of the wave function collapsing and the measurement problem in QM.

[JohnJohansen]

I would very much wish for you to continue this format after the covid situation. 🙂
Of course I still look forward to more normal editions also. 👍

[petergreen]

❤Thank you very much Professor Lincoln

[joseraulcapablanca]

Thanks Doctor Lincoln, informative funny and a cool t shirt. What more can one ask for? Keep up the good work.

[laurendoe]

I am SO sold on the Anthropic Principle... if things weren't the way they are, we wouldn't be here to ask why they are the way they are.

[mamamheus]

Currently watching these backwards, so to speak. Fantastic series. I love speculative science because it frees the mind to imagine pretty much any situation. For a sci-fi writer, if only for a small group, this is fantastic 'fodder'. Having said that, I only write it if I think I can use any scenario within acceptable parameters. I really appreciate your clear explanations, as much as any speculation can be clear!

[lorenzmueller]

Hi Don!
Could you elaborate on why some physicists think that the existence of more universes makes the existence of ours with "life-supporting" fine tuning more plausible? Are those other universes necessarily expected to produce constants "all over the place" and so to get it just right once in a while?
I am thinking about throwing dice here, expecting a "6-6" scenario. But underlying is the asssumption that that scenario can and will be achieved.

[folday]

Thanks for your detailed explanation of where we’ve been and where we’re headed...all on a time scale which is beyond us mere mortals!