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The Particle We’ve Been Chasing for 30 Years Might Not Exist

Season 11 Episode 20 | 18m 33s

The universe thrums with quantum fields; and the particles of matter and force emerge as vibrational manifestations of the deep symmetries of these fields. The layers and reflections of those symmetries give us the wonderful richness of what we call the standard model of particle physics. Except there seems to be something missing: the sterile neutrino.

Aired: 01/21/26
Extras
The Higgs boson may open a portal to hidden particles that could explain dark matter.
The universe expands faster. “Dark energy” may not be constant after all.
There’s a new generation of experiments that may unlock the gravity particle.
Gravitons, the particle of quantum gravity, may be impossible to detect.
We go in depth on black holes: the strangest objects in the universe!
2025 was the international year of quantum science, but today we examine its origins.
We’ve found lots of “habitable” worlds but we don’t know what factors are needed for life.
What is the graviton, and does it even exist?
Does quantum mechanics allow the future to retroactively influence the past or not?
Antimatter drives sound like science fiction, but they may not be as far as you think.
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The Higgs boson may open a portal to hidden particles that could explain dark matter.
The universe expands faster. “Dark energy” may not be constant after all.
There’s a new generation of experiments that may unlock the gravity particle.
Gravitons, the particle of quantum gravity, may be impossible to detect.
2025 was the international year of quantum science, but today we examine its origins.
We’ve found lots of “habitable” worlds but we don’t know what factors are needed for life.
What is the graviton, and does it even exist?
Does quantum mechanics allow the future to retroactively influence the past or not?
Antimatter drives sound like science fiction, but they may not be as far as you think.
Life on mars could result in humanity’s destruction via Fermi Paradox.