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The Infinite Monkey Cage

Episode 2

The Infinite Monkey Cage

BBC

Comedy, Science

4.79.4K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2015

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Brian Cox and Robin Ince explore the legacy of Einstein's great theory, and how a mathematical equation written 100 years ago seems to have predicted so accurately exactly how our universe works. From black holes to the expanding universe, every observation of the universe, so far, has been held up by the maths in Einstein's extraordinary work. So how was he able to predict the events and behaviour of our universe, long before the technology existed to prove he was right, and will there ever be another theory that will supersede it? Brian and Robin head up the iconic Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank to explore Einstein's theory in action, and talk to scientists who are still probing the mysteries hidden within General Relativity.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is a download from the BBC to find out more visit bbc.co.uk

0:05.8

slash radio for

0:08.8

Hello, I'm Robin Inc and I'm Brian Cox now usually we present the radio for show the infinite monkey cage

0:13.9

But last week where I'm very kindly took me out of the studio to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of Einstein's theory of general relativity

0:20.8

Now to be honest is anyone who listens to monkey cage regularly knows I didn't have a great deal of hope of teaching you very much

0:27.2

But I another's tried what are you learning Robin? Well, it all starts with think about falling down on a lift general relativity

0:34.1

Follows on from special relativity that's the equals mc squared

0:36.4

This means space and time is really space time you can't have space without time or time without space

0:40.5

They're inextricably linked and gravity is the curvature of space time gravity is not a force and that g mu nu equals team

0:46.1

You knew that is a tip-top equation if anyone from another universe wants you to sum up your universe in just a few letters with one

0:52.2

Equation well, that's the one to go with all in all my head feels like it is spinning

0:57.0

I think I have vertigo and I don't know whether I should have vertigo anymore now that I found out about the geometry of space time

1:01.7

But that's the way it went for me that is not bad actually Robin

1:05.3

I'm quite surprised we're beginning to get somewhere

1:07.5

G mu nu equals team you nu now that I know it

1:09.9

I'm not going to skimp on any opportunity for saying it over and over again

1:13.4

No, well you missed a few things out

1:15.2

There's an 8 pie G overseas to the foreign from the team you knew and you could put the cosmological constant

1:19.7

So what's the longest version you think I can get away with?

1:22.4

The longest version yeah, I can maybe I can get away with not a physicist me

1:26.9

Just say the g mu mu equals 8 pie team you mean you that 25 ish

1:31.6

Yeah, so a factor of 25 you can set g and c to 1. Oh, I'll stick to that. That's fine

...

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