multiverse

Did the Big Bang mark the beginning of time? Not if we live in a bubble multiverse!

There are some interesting answers to this question, including that we live in a bubble multiverse!

Cutting spacetime into patches could help explain the size of the universe—and provide the first ”experimental” evidence that string theory is on the right track.

If there's a multiverse, then how many of its component universes are like our own?

If there's a multiverse, then how many of its component universes are like our own?

No one really knows the answer to this question. It's quite possible that there are more than one, in fact there may be infinitely many, popping in and out of existence like bubbles in a bubble bath.

There are many theories in particle physics that cannot be tested in experiments. Does this make it unscientific? This debate, featuring one of our favourite theoretical physicists, David Tong, explores the question.

If you like to have your mind blown cosmology is a great field to go into. But is it science?

George Ellis explains why the study of the cosmos poses some very deep questions.

The Astronomer Royal examines the evolution of our Universe and the important role of the constants of nature in this filmed public talk.

Are there parallel universes? Universes in which, rather than reading this article, you are still asleep; in which you are happier, unhappier, richer, poorer, or even dead? The answer is "possibly". It's a controversial claim but one that has won more and more followers over the last few decades.

Some of the things I overheard at Stephen Hawking's 70th birthday conference did make me wonder whether I hadn't got the wrong building and stumbled in on a sci-fi convention. "The state of the multiverse". "The Universe is simple but strange". "The future for intelligent life is potentially infinite". And — excuse me — "the Big Bang was just the decay of our parent vacuum"?!

  • Want facts and want them fast? Our Maths in a minute series explores key mathematical concepts in just a few words.

  • As COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, kicks off we look at how maths can help understand the climate crisis.

  • How do you create dramatic film out of mathematics? We find out with writer and director Timothy Lanzone.

  • Mathematics plays a central role in understanding how infectious diseases spread. This collection of articles looks at some basic concepts in epidemiology to help you understand this fascinating and important field, and set you up for further study.

  • Find out why the formula we use to work out conditional probabilities is true!

  • We talk about a play that explores the fascinating mathematical collaboration between the mathematicians GH Hardy and Srinivasa Ramanujan.