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Two Infinities and Beyond, Part 2

Curious CasesSeries 12

Is anything in the Universe infinite? Science sleuths Drs Rutherford and Fry investigate.

In the second part of our eternal quest to investigate infinity, inspired by this question from father and son duo Sorley and Tom Watson from Edinburgh: “Is anything in the Universe truly infinite, or is infinity something that only exists in mathematics?”

Hannah and Adam try and find something that is truly infinite, from the infinitely small particles that live in the subatomic world to the infinitely dense heart of a black hole. But how about the Universe itself? We find out how physicists go about measuring the shape of the Universe, with the help of an orange and a game of Asteroids. Plus, we consider the possibility that the Universe might be finite and have an edge. If so, what's on the other side?

Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll from Caltech and cosmologist Andrew Pontzen from University College London help us navigate our biggest question yet.

Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford

Producer: Michelle Martin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.

Available now

31 minutes

Last on

Thu 16 Dec 202121:45
BBC Radio 4 Extra

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Two Infinities and Beyond, Part 1Series 12

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The Good Bad FoodSeries 12

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Broadcasts

  • Wed 12 Dec 201820:45
    BBC Radio 4
  • Sun 12 Dec 202110:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Sun 12 Dec 202121:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Thu 16 Dec 202111:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Thu 16 Dec 202121:45
    BBC Radio 4 Extra

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Podcast

  • Curious Cases

    Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain tackle listeners' conundrums with the power of science!