Audio Edition: Epic Effort to Ground Physics in Math Opens Up the Secrets of Time

Audio Edition: Epic Effort to Ground Physics in Math Opens Up the Secrets of Time

Author: Quanta Magazine February 19, 2026 Duration: 17:29
By mathematically proving how individual molecules create the complex motion of fluids, three mathematicians have illuminated why time can’t flow in reverse. The story Epic Effort to Ground Physics in Math Opens Up the Secrets of Time first appeared on Quanta Magazine.

Hosted by Quanta Magazine Editor-in-Chief Samir Patel, The Quanta Podcast is a series of deep, thoughtful conversations with the researchers and thinkers whose work is shaping our fundamental understanding of reality. Each episode delves into a single, profound idea, whether it's a new discovery about black holes, a breakthrough in cellular biology, or an elegant proof in pure mathematics. These aren't surface-level summaries; they are guided tours through complex concepts, made accessible through patient explanation and genuine curiosity. You'll hear directly from the scientists and mathematicians themselves, the very people behind the groundbreaking stories in Quanta Magazine, as they explain not just what they found, but how they think and why it matters. The discussions naturally unfold to explore the implications of these discoveries, revealing the often-surprising connections between different fields and the enduring mysteries that lie just beyond our current grasp. This podcast serves as an audio companion to the magazine's award-winning journalism, designed for anyone with a restless mind eager to peer over the edge of the known world. It’s about the process of inquiry as much as the answers, offering a rare and intimate look at the cutting edge of science and math from those who are actively pushing it forward.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

The Quanta Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Are the Little Red Dots Actually Black Hole Suns? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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When all you can see is a speck, it’s hard to tell what you’re looking at. Astronomers first argued that little red dots spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope in 2022 were distant galaxies on the cosmic horizon, main…
Four-Color Theorem Is Still a Math Favorite [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:41
In 1852, the mathematician Francis Guthrie was coloring in a map of English counties when he noticed that he needed only four colors. Was this always true, he wondered? The question captured the imagination of hobbyists…
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How the Brain Compresses Our Noisy World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:14
If you are well rested and full, your brain tells you that a bruised overripe apple is a piece of subpar fruit to be passed over. However, if you are exhausted and hungry, an overripe apple is categorized as much-needed…
Picking Teams With the Math of Imbalance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:07
Combinatorial discrepancy theory is a branch of mathematics concerned with balance. If you’re making two teams — sports, trivia, you name it — how can you make sure that they’re perfectly balanced and fair, skill-wise? Y…
What Makes a Fluid a Fluid? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:00
The Navier-Stokes equations are enormously successful at predicting how fluids flow and swirl. But they fail to account for the microscopic bits that make up matter. But now math based on symmetries offers a new concepti…
Audio Edition: New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:01
Mathematicians have broken through a long-standing barrier in the study of “minimizing surfaces,” which play an important role in both math and physics. The article New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities first appeared…