The Biggest Ideas in the Universe | 16. Gravity

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Published 2020-07-07

The Biggest Ideas in the Universe is a series of videos where I talk informally about some of the fundamental concepts that help us understand our natural world. Exceedingly casual, not overly polished, and meant for absolutely everybody.

This is Idea #16, "Gravity." By which we mean Einstein's theory of General Relativity, according to which gravity is the curvature of spacetime. Since we've already learned about spacetime and about curvature (geometry), this one is a breeze.

My web page: www.preposterousuniverse.com/

My YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/seancarroll

Mindscape podcast: www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast

The Biggest Ideas playlist: • The Biggest Ideas in the Universe!

Blog posts for the series: www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/category/biggest…

Background image: Astronaut Bruce McCandless floating in space, NASA. www.nasa.gov/astronautprofiles/mccandless

#science #physics #ideas #universe #learning #cosmology #philosophy #gravity #generalrelativity #einstein #spacetime

All Comments (21)

@seancarroll 4 years ago

Couple of errata: Around 48:00, the first entry in the components of the metric should be -1, not +1. And around 1:02:40, I said the Riemann tensor has 128 entries, when of course it's 4x4x4x4 = 256.
@ralphclark 1 year ago

I am astounded. Delivering an overview of GR mathematics in under two hours that is comprehensible to someone who only studied maths to high school level forty years ago? It's not the first time I've attempted to grasp it but it's the first time I came anywhere near succeeding without having to just take every step as "given". The first lecture of every college physics course should be just like this. Then spend all the rest going over the fine details. Dr Carroll you're a hell of an educator.
@samcochran6599 1 year ago

The Bob Ross of science
@tessellatedagain 3 years ago

Thank you Sean Carroll! Your series here on YT, the Royal Institution, etc… You conversations on the Mindscape Podcast… is a gift to humanity that I thoroughly enjoy since I found this. Please never stop doing this and consider me a humble fan from Austria. This is all gold and writing history!
@sanjchiro 4 years ago

I love how Sean gets breathless and so excited, must have been a little like what Einstein would have felt at the time when the Eureka moment hit
@kobev3li385 4 years ago

How you showed the differences and ultimately the relationship between gravity and geodesics to other gauge fields, I thought the explanation was so clear I couldn't help but shed a tear when marveling these concepts. Words cannot express how much this series is appreciated Dr. Carroll, thank you so very much again for all your insights and all the time you devote to this series. Which truly has to be the most wonderful series on youtube today.
@rhondagoodloe3275 4 years ago

Thanks again for your willingness to put so much time and effort into this project!
@drazicmilosovic1065 3 years ago

THIS is what YouTube is for. Educational - accessible - inspirational. Thank you!
@SlyFoxFo 4 years ago

You make Tyson and Nye look like kindergarten teachers 🔥 Thanks for treating us as intellectuals. It's such a departure from the rest of social media.
@imaseeker100 4 years ago

There are many brilliant minds among us but few are as articulate and engaging as Mr. Carroll.
@davidsardarov252 2 years ago

I hope it is like you said: "100 years from now your series will still be on YouTube..." It is golden and for everyone to know! Thank you.
@joeking4206 1 year ago

Absolutely brilliant Sean. I am 61 and have a 2:1 degree ( English) in Mechanical Engineering. I studied differentiation and lots of other stuff but this is the best lectures(s) that I have ever seen.
@calvingrondahl1011 3 years ago

Relaxing presentation, I can rewatch this over and over and learn something new every time. I am a retired editorial cartoonist and your drawing is just fine.
@dnavas7719 4 years ago

OMG I've loved every single one but this is the ONE I was waiting for!!! Thanks a lot Dr. Carroll ❤❤❤
@EarlWallaceNYC 4 years ago

Once again: I've gotten great insights into a topic I've know for years. Thanks
@Dr10Jeeps 4 years ago

As a university psychology professor, I love these sessions with Dr. Carroll. He is such an engaging person (to say nothing about being brilliant as well).
@robmack4986 3 years ago

Mr. Carroll, thank you so much for taking the time to explain EFE. Everywhere I looked, everyone would give examples for application, and when you have not been ever properly explained where symbols and letters derived from, or why those symbols do what they do, the language of the math in my head was indecipherable. Now I know what is being applied and derived from these equations. Thank you so much.
@schelsullivan 4 years ago

One of the only things I allowed to notify me on my phone. Glad to be here early and often
@vintagerealityvr 3 years ago

Holy crap this is amazing. Finally that next level of understanding I can't get from audiobooks and other YouTube videos. A true lecture
@tungstikum 4 years ago

I find myself gravitating towards Sean's videos!