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Talking physics with an alien civilization: what could we learn?

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Manage episode 520365896 series 2639991
Content provided by Physics World. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Physics World or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

It is book week here at Physics World and over the course of three days we are presenting conversations with the authors of three fascinating and fun books about physics. Today, my guest is the physicist Daniel Whiteson, who along with the artist Andy Warner has created the delightful book Do Aliens Speak Physics?.

Is physics universal, or is it shaped by human perspective? This will be a very important question if and when we are visited by an advanced alien civilization. Would we recognize our visitors’ alien science – or indeed, could a technologically-advanced civilization have no science at all? And would we even be able to communicate about science with our alien guests?

Whiteson, who is a particle physicist at the University of California Irvine, tackles these profound questions and much more in this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast.

APS logo

This episode is supported by the APS Global Physics Summit, which takes place on 15–20 March, 2026, in Denver, Colorado, and online.

  continue reading

112 episodes

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iconShare
 
Manage episode 520365896 series 2639991
Content provided by Physics World. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Physics World or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

It is book week here at Physics World and over the course of three days we are presenting conversations with the authors of three fascinating and fun books about physics. Today, my guest is the physicist Daniel Whiteson, who along with the artist Andy Warner has created the delightful book Do Aliens Speak Physics?.

Is physics universal, or is it shaped by human perspective? This will be a very important question if and when we are visited by an advanced alien civilization. Would we recognize our visitors’ alien science – or indeed, could a technologically-advanced civilization have no science at all? And would we even be able to communicate about science with our alien guests?

Whiteson, who is a particle physicist at the University of California Irvine, tackles these profound questions and much more in this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast.

APS logo

This episode is supported by the APS Global Physics Summit, which takes place on 15–20 March, 2026, in Denver, Colorado, and online.

  continue reading

112 episodes

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