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PBS Space Time

What If The Speed of Light is Not Constant?

Season 9 Episode 19 | 15m 05s

One of the most fundamental physics facts is that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant for all observers. But can we really be sure? In fact, variable speed of light theories have long been used to try to explain everything from dark energy to gravity itself. Let’s explore how constant this fundamental constant really is.

Aired: 07/18/23
Extras
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Is There a Simple Proof For a Vast Multiverse?
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Episode: S11 E10 | 16:18
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Can something that exists be bad science?
Episode: S11 E9 | 17:14
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It may be that our very DNA inherited its twist from the underlying handedness of reality.
Episode: S11 E8 | 18:56
Watch • 17:21
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Did God have any choice in creating the world? So asked Albert Einstein
Episode: S11 E7 | 17:21
Watch • 18:19
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What if, just before we reach the bottom, we find out that reductionism fails?
Episode: S11 E6 | 18:19
Watch • 19:03
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The biggest news in cosmology in recent years is that dark energy may be fading away.
Episode: S11 E5 | 19:03
Watch • 18:50
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Is There A Simple Solution To The Fermi Paradox?
Does this also explain why there are no aliens?
Episode: S11 E4 | 18:50
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Watch • 19:14
PBS Space Time
Why Life on Mars Will Doom Humanity
Life on mars could result in humanity’s destruction via Fermi Paradox.
Episode: S11 E13 | 19:14
Watch • 19:01
PBS Space Time
At What Point Does Spacetime Become Quantum?
How to build a particle collider the size of the solar system.
Episode: S11 E12 | 19:01
Watch • 12:39
PBS Space Time
The Most Important Satellite You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of
One of the most important reasons we go to space is to know our own planet better.
Episode: S11 E11 | 12:39
Watch • 16:18
PBS Space Time
Is There a Simple Proof For a Vast Multiverse?
Is there evidence for the existence of an enormous number of other universes?
Episode: S11 E10 | 16:18
Watch • 17:14
PBS Space Time
Why The Multiverse Could Be Real
Can something that exists be bad science?
Episode: S11 E9 | 17:14
Watch • 18:56
PBS Space Time
Why Is All DNA Right Handed?
It may be that our very DNA inherited its twist from the underlying handedness of reality.
Episode: S11 E8 | 18:56
Watch • 17:21
PBS Space Time
Are The Fundamental Constants Finely Tuned? | The Naturalness Problem
Did God have any choice in creating the world? So asked Albert Einstein
Episode: S11 E7 | 17:21
Watch • 18:19
PBS Space Time
The Crisis In Physics: Are We Missing 17 Layers of Reality?
What if, just before we reach the bottom, we find out that reductionism fails?
Episode: S11 E6 | 18:19
Watch • 19:03
PBS Space Time
Is Our Model of Dark Energy Wrong? | New 4.2σ Results
The biggest news in cosmology in recent years is that dark energy may be fading away.
Episode: S11 E5 | 19:03
Watch • 18:50
PBS Space Time
Is There A Simple Solution To The Fermi Paradox?
Does this also explain why there are no aliens?
Episode: S11 E4 | 18:50