Perhaps the grandest questions of all are those of how the universe came to be, how it has evolved, and how it will end. While modern science does not have all the answers, the scientific community has discovered many facts that allow us to understand much of this story. In this public lecture, presented on Dec. 9, 2022, Don Lincoln explains what we know — and what we don’t know — about these ageless questions.
Gravity is the most familiar of the known forces, but it seems to be eternal and unchanging. However, scientists believe that gravity moves with a specific speed. In this video, Don Lincoln describes a fascinating observation that definitively measures the speed of gravity.
From Big Think, October 25, 2022: Don Lincoln explores the two theories of gravity from Newton and Einstein. Due to astronomers observations of gravitational waves recorded in 2017, we now know that gravity and light travel at the same speed.
Falling into a black hole is a science fiction favorite. In this video, Don Lincoln tells you what it’s really like, telling the facts and dispelling fiction. (Hint: Avoid it if at all possible.)
Among the most interesting astronomical bodies is the black hole; but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. In this video, Don Lincoln debunks some common misconceptions about black holes and also explains some important truths.
From Science News, August 4, 2022: A proposed experiment called Windchime, will try something new: It will search for dark matter using the only force it is guaranteed to feel — gravity. Fermilab physicist Dan Hooper chimes in on what this experiment can mean to the study of dark matter.
From Forbes, April 29, 2021: Don Lincoln discusses a possible model of dark matter called a WIMP, short for weakly interacting massive particle.
Despite featuring in sci-fi and many UFO reports, Antigravity is an idea that is potentially scientifically reputable, and scientists at CERN are investigating possible connections between antimatter and antigravity. Fermilab’s Dr. Don Lincoln covers both the fact and fiction of this interesting topic.
From Super Interessante, Jan. 31, 2021: A team of researchers from Fermilab and the National Observatory in Brazil used the light of solitary stars to calculate the mass of some of the largest structures in the cosmos — galaxy clusters. In addition to taking the most detailed measurement ever published of intracluster light, the team’s new method of measurement can help further investigate dark matter.
From University of Birmingham, Jan. 13, 2021: Fermilab will take part in an international collaboration, led by Cardiff University, on quantum-enhanced interferometry for new physics. The project’s four table-top experiments may help explore new parameter spaces of photon-dark matter interaction, and seek answers to the long-standing question at the heart of modern science: How can gravity be united with the other fundamental forces?