In this episode Jonathan Oppenheim, a leading quantum information theorist at UCL, discusses the challenges of unifying quantum mechanics with gravity and explores whether spacetime is fundamentally classical. He examines quantum‑classical hybrid dynamics, path integrals, and the role of observation in collapse, offering fresh perspectives on the foundations of physics.- 00:00 - Intro- 01:08 - Quantum Mechanics and Classical Mechanics- 06:05 - Quantizing Gravity- 10:30 - How Gravity is Different- 16:07 - Classical-Quantum Gravity- 21:42 - Quantum Mechanics- 25:23 - Example of Continuous Master-Equation- 28:45 - Observation Causes a Collapse- 35:20 - Path Integrals- 49:34 - Intuitions- 59:32 - Is Spacetime Classical?- 01:03:05 - Outro / Support TOESPONSORS:- The Economist: 20% off digital access – https://www.economist.com/toe- Indeed: Get your jobs more visibility – https://indeed.com/theories ($75 credit to book your job visibility)- HelloFresh: FREE breakfast for life – https://www.HelloFresh.com/freetheoriesofeverythingRESOURCES:- Sean Carroll on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AoRxtYZrZo- Jonathan's first appearance on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKOd8imBa2s- Jonathan's paper on hybrid classical-quantum dynamics: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2203.01332- Jonathan's paper on a post-quantum theory of classical gravity: https://journals.aps.org/prx/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevX.13.041040- Jonathan's website: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/oppenheim/- List of all of Jonathan's published papers: https://arxiv.org/search/?query=Oppenheim%2C+Jonathan&searchtype=author&abstracts=show&order=-announced_date_first&size=50- Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal (early access to ad-free audio episodes!)- Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e- Become a YouTube Member Here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join- Join TOEmail at https://www.curtjaimungal.org- Crypto: https://tinyurl.com/cryptoTOE- PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE- TOE Merch: https://tinyurl.com/TOEmerch- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theoriesofeverythingpod- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theoriesofeverything_- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt- Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs- iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802- Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP- Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything
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