Brian Cox on quantum computing and black hole physics
“You’re not meant to understand what I just said, because I don’t understand what I just said…” Physicist Brian Cox on one of the most complex theories in space science.
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Physicist Brian Cox takes us into the mind-bending world where quantum mechanics, black holes, and the future of computing converge.
In this interview, Cox shares the engineering challenges behind building quantum computers and the intricate dance of storing information in their notoriously delicate memory. However, black holes have an unexpected link to quantum information storage. Cox discusses how Planck units, holography, and redundancy could shape the future of computing.
It is a mind-expanding discussion that pushes the boundaries of our understanding. Even Cox says, “You're not meant to understand what I've just said because I don't understand what I've just said because nobody understands what I've just said.”
Welcome to the frontier where nature's laws and technological innovation collide.
Read the video transcript ► bigthink.com/series/great-que...
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About Brian Cox:
Brian Cox obtained a first class honors degree in physics from the University of Manchester in 1995 and in 1998 a Ph.D. in High Energy Particle Physics at the DESY laboratory in Hamburg. He is now Professor of Particle Physics at the University of Manchester, The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Brian is widely recognized as the foremost communicator for all things scientific, having presented a number of highly acclaimed science programs for the BBC watched by billions internationally including ‘Adventures in Space and Time’ (2021), ‘Universe’ (2021), ‘The Planets’ (2018), ‘Forces of Nature’ (2016), ‘Human Universe’ (2014), ‘Wonders of Life’ (2012), ‘Wonders of the Universe’ (2011) and ‘Wonders of the Solar System’ (2010).
As an author, Brian has also sold over a million books worldwide including ‘Black Holes’, ‘Universal: A Guide to the Cosmos’, ‘Quantum Universe’ and ‘Why Does E=mc2?’ with co-author Professor Jeffrey Forshaw. He has set several world records for his sell-out live tours, including his most recent tour Horizons which has taken in venues across the globe.
Is there a word for being interested in something, but not understanding any of it? Because that's how I feel when watching videos about black holes and quantum computers.
Drawn by *Gravitation*
curiosity ?
In my specific case: “dense”
Perplexed
Gobsmacked?
Brian Cox sounds like he is in love with every word, every concept he talks about. His passion is contagious.
or, he loves the sound of his own voice....be ware of who/how and why you follow, and the ideas you subsequently espouse.
Jesus loves you ❤️. He is waiting for you with open arms and he longs to be with you. Please repent and turn to him before it is too late. The last days written about in the Bible are already happening in the world. God sent his son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross. This was the ultimate expression of God's love for us. Then God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. In Jesus you will find perfect rest and peace. Peace that the world cannot offer. Peace that none of our earthly and sinful desires can bring us. The peace Jesus offers is what your heart longs for. His love for you is greater than any pain. He thought of you as he hung on that cross. He gave up everything for you just for the chance that you might love him back. I used to hate God, and I was completely against him but I realised that I was on a dangerous path maybe even close to approaching a point of no return. I needed him and I deeply longed to finally come to a place of peace and rest which I only found in him and his perfect love. Please turn to Jesus. He is waiting for you with open arms.
Jesus loves you ❤️ @@har8397
To be with wisdom is to hold onto our youthful curious enthusiasm ; we may desire to use it when we are older.
Wow Brian is amazing. Hey big think interview some doctors who were in gaza next
I thought I was stupid, now I know I am .
This guy is one of my fav physics communicators
Would you mind recommending the others?
he is the best what r u talking one of my fav
@@warmredwateru can check his podcast with Joe Rogan or other vids. Also I can recommend Neil Degrasse Tyson (astrophysicist) and Vert Dider (such YT channel).
he is nr 1 at teaching physics
@@warmredwater Jim al-khalili is a close second
Took my son to see him last week. Great talk with such infectuous enthusiasm and he has the knack of making you feel cleverer than you are.
How old? I can't wait to do this myself.
@@Chris-qg2un My son is six, bit of a late night for him but he loves anything to do with space so it was a treat.
The reality is that you are probably more clever than you realise. But it's also the reality of our current culture to increasingly suppress our own insights and thought propagation.
Because you are thick!
“Nobody understands what I just said”. That is a relief and I’ll continue following along with great interest.
Absolutely no idea what’s just been talked about but I enjoyed it
well he too stated he doesn't understand what he just said so
well done for even trying ! same goes for me I love these videos regarding quantum physics but as with yourself get totally lost as a result
Thanks for that last line. I'm relieved 😅😅😅😅
Hahahaha same
😅
I was aching to find this comment 🤣🤣... though.. truth be told.. i did understand some of what he said!
Brian Cox, the David Attenborough of STEM.
Love him so much.
Not even in the same league
They’re very similar in the sense that no matter what either of them say, I 100% believe them.
@@finx2much Yes, Brian is miles better as he practices what he talks about at the cutting edge. David is a tv presenter.
Man I need those space documentaries with Brian cox narrating and explaining
"...because i don't understand what i just said..." That's brilliant.
Surely he was there for longer than 6 minutes, I need all of it. Brian Cox could talk about the correct way to build a burrito and I would give my undivided attention.
I feel so stupid right now.
You are not alone…
You can’t feel stupid.
Duh
He is explaining the holographic principle of black holes. PBS Space Time have a few good videos explaining the subject.
The nice thing about science is that there are fewer complete idiots among scientists than in the rest of society because people depend on each other and enjoy respect for each other
I’ve had 3 glasses of wine and watched a 6.43 video, and I have absolutely no idea what Brian is going on about….but tomorrow is another day and I’ll give it another go.
Love him! He was born to lecture us all in a way that is not lecturing at all. I feel like we were just having a conversation and it was his turn to speak
It's so wild we're actually able to study a thing so distant as a black hole. When scientists talk about it, you get the feeling we're living nearby one. But it's so far away it's utterly insane... man, the sheer size of the world we live in, it blows my mind every single day.
This + the fact that black holes were never ever observed even once before they were mathematically theorized, but once we developed powerful telescopes and peered into the void, voila, there they were. Humans are so incredible when we put our collective strength towards discovery and progress.
I recommend watching the most recent episode of PBS SpaceTime here on youtube. It covers this exact topic of a holographic universe and explains (in a way we layman can understand, while showing the math if interested), how this thermodynamic theory had Newtons Gravity "fall out" of it. The original theory of gravity just arising in thermodynamic math serendipitously makes me think a hint was found in a bigger picture and that is remarkable.
PBS Spacetime is great
Such a monumental discovery in terms of physics just being a hint for something much grander is so exciting
He always looks like he has a slight smug grin but his voice is calming and it makes you want to listen close.
Mr. Cox we need more context from you, it's a joy to listen to you explain what can't be understood. Thank you!!
Brian Cox what a g. I could listen to this guy talk all day
Wonderfully explained for those of us that don't 'live' in that world but like a glimpse of it from time-to-time. As you so eloquently state "nobody really understands this - yet". The wonderful thing about Newtonian physics is that we can reach out and touch it - we can relate because it is the world we live in. In the Quantum world nothing makes physical sense and you have to do a deep dive mathematically to get any understanding at all. I'll be on the lookout for Brian Cox from now on.
Dr. Brian Cox is easily the most natural instructional talent in astrophysics along with Professor M Kakau no grandiose egos they're friendly personable relatable and genuine . Honestly what he is explaining for me is simply terrifying I don't want to explore plank distances and for me it will always be Einstein Theory of Relativity space-time I don't want to consider anything else again it's simply terrifying.
So information is captured in 3D and stored on the surface of a Black Hole in 2D. The third dimension, ‘depth’, is sucked into the Black Hole, inside which space and time is absent. 3D information is fully reconstructable from the ‘flat’ 2D information trapped on the event horizon ‘surface’ of the Black Hole at any time (like T-line shorthand leaves most vowels out of words but they are still recognisable enough to be understandable). This process can safely preserve information within Quantum computers. That’s as far as I can get from Professor Brian Cox’s mini masterclass which is brilliant, as usual. Any helpers?
The man couldnt fix a flat tire to save his own life
@@renaissanceman5847 of course not - why would he even want to that's what AAA is for I don't break a sweat I use my mind and stay in the AC just like he does . BTW Mr Mechanic - when was the last time YOU wrote and published a best seller ?
@@atheistsince1210 considering many books on the best seller list are fiction... Im not impressed. anyone that claims to know the facts concerning the cosmos is extraordinarily arrogant... considering we have not physically touched anything beyond our own moon.
NETFLIX - Please give this guy a contract now!
He's got loads on BBC iplayer!
David Attenborough is not going to be around for much longer! Brian is the best replacement option. His BBC docs are top tier.
I could listen to Mr. Cox talk for countless hours, and have. What a master of words and science.
This was an absolutely amazing dialogue - such passion in the content and such a straightforward explanation of an insanely complex problem! Mind blown with the comment that info is stored redundantly on the boundary... changed my thinking on how quantum computer memory could potentially function! Can listen to Brian all day and always be amazed...
Take a diamond cut jewel. We don't admire it by it's material. We admire it by how light gets reflected on its facets, which are on its surface. And it is ON THE SURFACE that we imprint our "information". My guess is black holes follow the same idea. Problem is: nothing gets pass/through them so we have to way to see or interpret the information it holds. It is like a beautiful cut diamond in a very dark room.
Interesting metaphor.
I have also heard it said that you can interpret holographic objects like incredibly densely layered onions. Each layer is like a 2d surface but when overlaid it becomes essentially 3d. And that’s why you see the outermost surface with all the information on a black hole.
@@kael13 that almost sounds like a CT scan ( computed tomography)
Infinity in a mirror’s reflection
I think what you are saying is that maybe we define information in such a way that ignores the information that is stored within the volume and it is not that information doesn't exist throughout it entire body, but that we don't allow ourselves to recognize all of the information. In otherwords, we need to change our definition of information to be able to recognize all of it. If this is what you meant then I agree.
A question about 3:50 or thereabouts: contents and addresses. Can it be that the 2-d surface really says this is an outer edge of a thing and nested within this 2d surface are contents that live at this address? A bit like how a spreadsheet has addresses and data resides in those addresses? There has to be some way for example how a vase retains its surface as a vase and all of the components down to quanta levels co-exist in a stable way that is resilient to motions through space. If so it suggests space has its own mechanisms, rules and regulations allowing things to reasonable move through space yet keep an object in a relatively stable state. So there is at least some distinction between space and matter and how these interact in ways we know and love so well.
Can we get longer Brian cox videos please!!! Love him
You have to PAY for that. Obviously. Did you think KZhead was a platform were people upload videos for free? Not anymore! YT has become cable TV. The Very thing we came to get away from.
@@jackalbright4599 I already pay for premium but then having to pay channel membership fee on to p that... no thanks
@@jackalbright4599 classic mansplaining
@@Kittyyfyd saying mansplaining whilst ironically crying cos he answered your question
@@5kiann don’t recall asking a question, I made a statement lmao
I love that he clarified at the end that we aren't idiots. Even he's confused.
I love listening to Brian Cox. I could sit and listen to him all day. He's very good at explaining this complicated subject to people with lesser understanding of science.
The fact that Prof. Cox says he doesn't understand what he just said has put my brain at ease.
Brian Cox is my favorite speaker, he is so passionate and technical but never leaves you behind
Have no clue what he's talking about but its cool that some one thinks about it and is so eloquent in relaying the information. Thank you!
Wow, gotta watch this a few times.
I usually praise the message more than the messenger. But there is a level of humanity that resonates deep when profesor Cox is lecturing about a topic. He is truly a remarkable person and you can tell the passion and joy when he talks
Brian Cox is Sagan level. His enthusiasm and communication skills are excellent. I wish to thank him for being so passionate about sharing his knowledge.
Fascinating Dr Cox It makes me think of Ray Charles who lived in darkness and relied on touch (i.e. surface) to perform. The conceptual linkage between a black hole and storage of information on the surface rather than the volume conjures a very different dimension of thinking and articulating this subject. Thank you.
Makes sense given the rudimentary explanation of space/time provided by Einstein. A literal fabric of existence, where "volume" is imperceptible to inhabitants of the fabric. Anything with mass thus romantically tries to defy those rules by creating this "volume" of quantum possibility where otherwise there is only one path.
I love how he said " I even don't understand what I said " 😅😅 I feel better. I can watch and listen to Pr Cox for ever
I don't understand it but I'm excited at the ideas presented and that it's even there at all to be researched. What an incredible time in space sciences. Fascinating.
I don't think a lot of people will be easily eager to release informations in order to avoid errors just as they're not easily eager to let go of what they believe they know in order to open space to what they don't know yet. But this transition is unavoidable. For some it's like walking blindfolded around a cliff, for others it's a exciting free jump into the unknown. You either trust the universe or you don't I guess.
This guy... A living legend 🖤
Brian explaining the surface area being the medium for storing quantum data and understanding black holes kinda reminds me of an anology to calculus, in how deriving the surface area of a sphere (or a black hole) will give you its volume. Its like the traditional storage medium of our world is the volume but if you were to integrate over our traditional sense, we'd somehow end up in a quantum context, and vice versa by deriving.
❤ with disturbances between energies (which spread in forward spirals), vortices arise, which make these energies appear as matter, and in energy fields such as the Higgs, a torque is exerted on these vortices, this torque creates an apparent mass, a quantitative gravity,
Thank you for fulfilling my curiousity 😊
It's always delightful to listen to Brian cox explaining anything. Delightful.
It has been so long since we have had something to read/watch from Brian!
I think part of the brilliance that is these men and women that are able to look to the future and to unknown aspects of our universe is not their ability to quantify and measure and interpret what they discover but rather they ability to search for those things we have yet to see and allow their minds to work in ways we don’t understand.
Studying at 11th standard. The only thing I know is that black holes sucks everything inside. Didn't understand anything he said.😅 Still it was interesting to listen. Also found some small topics related to our 11th physics. Really it makes me so much curious to know about some mysterious things like black holes, white holes, worm holes, quantum physics/mechanics, etc.
its like adecentralized system that holds similar patterns that are the same in their basic utility but change in structure judging by whether its the internal component of the structure or external
Professor Brian Cox is brilliant at telling you about things about space quantum physics etc in a way people like myself can understand.
Great editing, like people are saying love to see the whole thing Brian Cox making sense in the least amount of words.
Incredibly fascinating, I just love your videos Brian. I wonder if consciousness, or awareness, will eventually be explained or integrated into all of this, perhaps in relationship to whatever space is.
I could listen to Brian all day long! He’s fascinating ! Haven’t got a clue what he’s on about, but that just thick old me!
“You’re not meant to understand what I just said, because I don’t understand what I just said, because nobody understands what I've just said…” This is poetry. Boastful and being humble at the same time.
Its pure
But either way, I'll sell you a ticket to my show. Dude is lost l, like the ones who follow
If you dont understand what you just said... that grounds for admittance to a mental institution where they keep you away from sharp objects and spicy food
Brian Cox is truly amazing and inspirational. Could listen to him all day (not understand a word he was saying mind)
The idea that information is 'lost' in a black hole is to misunderstand the nature of information which is transcendent of any particular circumstance from which it arose. The event horizon represents a static 'still', purely observational or 'potential information', where information is carried by the 'event', in this sense we can rebrand the horizon as 'the event-information horizon'. Beyond the horizon we have an atomization cloud due to the massive pull of gravity and is a region of pure super-position. The ground-state is the superposition and the hardest thing to acquire is a definite outcome - it makes this region incredibly robust to quantum processing. At the epicenter we reach a pure state of Unity or the true external mathematical reality and the point at which a quantum algorithm may be executed to bring about a new epoch or distributed system known as a Universe. It seems the Universe be no more than an inside-out black hole - beyond the CMBR we have the unobservable-observable which is paradoxical and represents the quantum realm or the atomization zone within a black hole - everything turns inside-out making the black hole fertile territory for quantum computation. Information for your understanding is 'fleeting' as far as the observation of it goes which makes information a purely dimensional quantity - just as with consciousness you know it's there but you just can't quite grasp it :-) and the second law stares on indifferent as to any notion of information loss within Black Holes. > AAd_7/1. > Always-as-One, we'll be home soon, Mother.
I love the way he explains physics!
❤❤❤❤ i love this research right at the boundary of our understanding and beyond. Fascinating.
David Bohm’s theory of holographic universe, I hear that in what is being said here. Bohm’s work is fascinating and well before his time. His implicate order…wonderful.
Thank goodness he said that at the end or I might have felt stupid because I didn't understand what he said 😂
Sean should do a video about the epicentre of a concentration of energy juxtaposed against a black hole
So if there is a duality between the outer boundary of our universe and what's going on within its volume, which one is in control? Or are they just one in the same? Could it be that what is happening within our familiar 4D spacetime is the result of the information on the boundary being manipulated by something or some way?
I love when a guy who fall in love to science talk about science.
BHs could be holographic fluids formed from melted crystal 🔮. I think there are particles inside, but they are holographically constrained. If we were to create such a drop of fluid, we won't be able to tell in which state some qubit is. That's because we alter systems when we measure them.
Could this theory be applied to what we know as gravity? With energy being turn into mass and a increased volume being transferred into a force with the boundary of a universe that is information? Like placing an object in a confided space of water the pressure would increase on the object because of the boundary. Information distance Could be infinite?
I like the sound of that
This theory is indeed applied to gravity. It's called entropic gravity and was first published by Erik Verlinde. PBS Spacetime actually did a great video about entropic gravity just yesterday
The secret to quantum formation has something to do with the absolute structure of this universe. Whilst not completely absolute, but we must conform to other individuals seeking more knowledge and information about this subject matter.
I absolutely love Brian Cox and could listen to him for hours.
he knows the concept, explains well & patient as well
Would this apply to the micro black holes that we've supposedly created? Is/could information be stored and read on it's horizon or shell? Would it matter if, as I suspect, our universe is inside a black hole?
When the information passes the event horizon it essentially experiences a stop of time due to passing the speed of light and time dilation. Therefore all the data a black hole stores is on the "surface" of the black hole
I can listen to Brian explaining black holes 24/7, 365 days 😊
Thank you Big Think for interviewing Brian Cox. He is a wonderful person 😊
The fact that the volume information of a blackhole is related to its surface area should not casually be applied to our normal 3D space; a blackhole is very unique, it serves to compress information down a dimension.
Can't wat to see Brian in Prague in a few weeks woooo.
Brian Cox absolute fantastic human being, bless his enthusiasm
I'm sad. My favorite phycisits, Professor Cox, is finally starting show his age. This man must live forever.
Is it the surface area or is it the connections to the matter out side of the black hole? Makes me curious how this connects to system/network theory!!
My relationship with quantum mechanics hasn’t been at its best but 6:14 made me believe again, thank you
Love Brian Cox videos for real, he is the best explaining this stuff
Loved the last statement. "Don't be upset that you didn't understand what I just said, because I don't understand what I just said!" 🤦🏼♂️🙆🏼♂️😂💕
Whenever I watch any content like this, I always think back to the late, great comedian Greg Giraldo. "This proves 100% without a doubt, that I once read an article I didn't understand"
Anyone knows what music is playing at the end? Thank you
The main block to "quantum" computing is that you are still using "on-off" switches to do the processing. It occurred to me lots of years ago that you need a multi-selection switch to begin the next stage in computing evolution.
There's not much chance of me understanding these concepts when I spent a significant proportion of the video contemplating why this was filmed in front of a plain screen only to zoom out and show the rest of the room behind it...
woosh
The proof that we come from somewhere that isn't here, that isn't based on space or time, is staggering.
So...The reality we perceive is a result of our perception, an actively measured state. Quantum computing has the ability to process algorithms in multiple states at once, and as long as we don't try to perceive them, they continue in this way. However, as soon as we observe, record, or use it, we lose all other states except for the one we can perceive and measure. Is that about right?
I am not sure but since light is just photons which are electromagnetic waves and the intense gravity of a black hole consumes all the energy beyond its event horizon into the singularity maybe it is rearranged in the centre, does it lose its electromagnetism and all the information is rearranged in a stasis free of the constraints of time? Now again, for how long and what causes the information to leak out as Hawking radiation? Longer periods of starvation? Loss of gravity?
Beautifully spoken.
the IBM (Qiskit) general information theory lessons seems to match this surface versus inside idea
we're gonna find some cool shit soon aren't we
We’re finding new cool shit all the time! It blows my mind that gravitational wave detection and the subsequent neutron star collisions and the subsequent rewriting of how heavy elements are formed happened in the last 10 years
The beauty of Science; The passion of not knowing the answer but searching for it!
Since you brought up the Planck distance, isn't that smallest dimension that space / time can be collapsed down to thus instead of ripping a hole in space / time, we end up a Planck star that acts the same way a black hole does whilst avoiding the erosion and loss of information out of this universe.
Nowadays railroads are built in near vaccum chamber tubes to transport. Only problem is projectile out of vacuum chamber. But Quantum Tunneling is possible for waves rather than objects. Quantum energy can be there at two places at the same time.
My first father in law had a PhD in Nuclear Physics and one in Quantam Physics. I would always ask him question and he said the same thing, Don't try to understand it we don't understand it we just asked each other questions and try to test it.
Every physicist powers on with musings about “information” but never takes a moment to outline how that word is used in physics conceptually and how it may differ from our everyday familiar understanding
I get the distinct feeling that for quantum computing, things can only get better!!
Boom! 😁
The ending words are exactly like love, no one understands it completely but catching glimpses of it ❤🎉😅😊
Think I have a look at Juan's work during the coming weekend. has been a while since I was checking black hole/singularities theories, and been over quantum mechanics.
I thought it was windy, but it was just everything Brian was saying going past real fast over my head!.
Question, could you put the information in a loop and pull from it when needed?