PBS Space Time

Noether's Theorem and The Symmetries of Reality

PBS Space Time

Show Notes

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACEUploaded 16-05-18To learn more about Brilliant, you can go to https://brilliant.org/spacetime/ Conservation laws are among the most important tools in physics. They feel as fundamental as you can get. And yet they’re wrong - or at least they’re only right sometimes. These laws are consequences of a much deeper, more fundamental principle: Noether’s theorem.You can further support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetimeGet your own Space Time t­-shirt at http://bit.ly/1QlzoBiTweet at us! @pbsspacetimeFacebook: facebook.com/pbsspacetimeEmail us! pbsspacetime [at] gmail [dot] comComment on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/pbsspacetimeHelp translate our videos!https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_...Previous Episode:How Gaia Changed Astronomy Foreverhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdy09...Conservation laws are the cheat codes of physics. They make it possible to solve physics problems that would otherwise be painfully difficult, or even impossible. More than cheat codes – conservation laws are close to the source code – they emerge from profound and simple truths about the basis of reality. They emerge from the fundamental symmetries of nature. The connection between conservation laws and symmetry is encapsulated in Noether’s theorem. But before we dive into this extremely elegant idea, let’s talk about the seeming paradox that inspired it, and the genius who discovered it.Written and hosted by Matt O'DowdGraphics by Grayson BlackmonAssistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike Petrow and Linda HuangMade by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com)Special thanks to our Patreon Big Bang, Quasar and Hypernova Supporters: Big BangCoolAsCatsDavid NicklasAnton LifshitsJoey RednerFabrice EapQuasarTambe BarsbayMayank M. MehrotaMars YenturMark RosenthalDean FuquaRoman PinchukColeslawPurdieHypernovaEdmund FokschanerMatthew O’ConnorEugene LawsonBarry HatfieldMartha HuntJoseph SalomoneChuck ZegarCraig PetersonJordan YoungRatfeastJohn HofmannThanks to our Patreon Gamma Ray Burst Supporters: James HughesFabian OlesenKris FernetJane MeyersJames FlowersGreg AllenDenys IvanovNick VirtueAlexey EromenkoNicholas RoseScott GossettMark VasilePatrick MurraySultan AlkhulaifiAlex SetoMichal-Peanut KarmiErik SteinKevin WarneJJ BagnellAvi GoldfingerJohn PettitFlorian StinglmayrBenoit Pagé-GuitardNathan LenizBrandon LabonteDavid CraneGreg WeissShannan CatalanoBrandon Cook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More from PBS Space Time

Oct 23, 2026

Thank you to Brilliant for Supporting PBS. To learn more go to https://brilliant.org/SpaceTime/

Oct 23, 2026

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE↓ More info below ↓Uploaded 15-12-20Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord! https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetimeGood news everyone: it looks like the universe is going to end with a series of catastrophic explosions. The very, very long story short is that the universe ends in heat death, as it approaches maximum entropy, and its eternal exponential expansion drives it to effective utter emptiness and absolute cold. But new calculations have revealed we may be able to look forward to one last source of astrophysical cataclysms - a new type of supernova that can only happen at the end of the universe. Check out the Space Time Merch Storehttps://pbsspacetime.com/Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements!https://mailchi.mp/1a6eb8f2717d/spacetimeHosted by Matt O'DowdWritten by Matt O'Dowd Graphics by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini, Pedro Osinski, and Adriano Leal Directed by: Andrew KornhaberAssistant Producer: Setare GholipourExecutive Producers: Eric Brown and Andrew KornhaberEnd Credits Music by J.R.S. Schattenberg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRl6-nb4iOnsij-vnpAjp0QSpecial Thanks to Our Patreon SupportersBig BangAhmad JodehAlexander TamasBrodie RaoClinton RobinsonDavid NicklasFabrice EapJuan BenetMark RosenthalMatthew MillerMorgan HoughRadu NegulescuScott GraySean MaddoxQuasarChristina OegrenHank SMark HeisingVinnie FalcoHypernovaAlec S-LBen Delochuck zegarDanton SpiveyDonal BotkinEdmund FokschanerJason FinnJohn HofmannJohn PollockJohn R. SlavikJordan YoungJoseph SalomoneJulian TyackeJustin JermynL. Wayne Ausbrooksm0nkMark Matthew BoskoMathewMatthew O'ConnorNicholas NewlinTimothy McCullochwilliam bryanАнтон КочковGamma Ray BurstA GAdrian HatchAlecZeroAndreas NautschAndrew MannAndrew RichmondAnthony KahngAstaurusAstronauticistBill BlairBleys GoodsonBradley JenkinsBrandon labonteBrandon LattinBrian BlanchardBruce BCameron SampsonCass CostelloChristopher BarronCraig StonahaDan WarrenDaniel JenningsDaniel LyonsDarren DuncanDarryl J LyleDavid HughesDavid JohnstonDawn M FinkDerek DavisDevon RosenthalDFaulkDrJYouEndre PechEric KieblerEric Websterfieldsa eleanoryFrederic SimonGeoffrey ClarionGeoffrey ShortGraydon GossGreg SmithIsaac SuttellIsmael MontecelJ. KingJames RamseyJeremiah JohnsonJeremy ReedJohn FunaiJohn GriffithJohn RobinsonKevin LeeKevin O'ConnellKevin WarneKyle HoferLily kawaiiLuaanLucas MorganMalte UblMark Daniel CohenMartin J LollarMartin SkansMD3Michael BartonMichael ConroyMirik GogriMr TNateNick VirtueNickolas Andrew FreemanOliver FlanaganPatrick SuttonPeter MertzPratik MukherjeeRichard DeightonRobert C SchuppRobert IlardiRobert WalterRuss CreechScott GossettShane CalimlimSimon OliphantSteven SartoreTim StephaniTonyfaceTybie FitzhughYannick WeynsYurii Konovaliuk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2026

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACEUploaded 21-03-18What do the first stars in the universe, dark matter, and superior siege engines have in common? You can further support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetimeGet your own Space Time t­-shirt at http://bit.ly/1QlzoBiTweet at us! @pbsspacetimeFacebook: facebook.com/pbsspacetimeEmail us! pbsspacetime [at] gmail [dot] comComment on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/pbsspacetimeTrebuchet Challenge Winners:Vineet GalaValerie SinclairAlex FunicielloDavid ShearnGwyn PaskeBruce and Angela TremainHelp translate our videos!https://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?tab=2&c=UC7_gcs09iThXybpVgjHZ_7gPrevious Episode:Hawking Radiationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPKj0YnKANwSometimes space news sneaks by without getting much attention. Not everything wows like gravitational waves or spacefaring sportscars. That’s the case with the recent discovery of earliest stars in the universe. In a Nature paper published a few weeks ago, Judd Bowman and collaborators report a signal from the very first stars to form in our universe. The same result also hints at brand new physics that may help explain the nature of dark matter. This result flew under the radar in part because it’s a subtle and clever result that requires a bit of interpretation. Today we’re doing a Space Time Journal Club to explain this discovery. We’ll follow that with the solution to our recent trebuchet challenge question.Written and Hosted by Matt O'DowdProduced by Rusty WardGraphics by Grayson BlackmonAssistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike Petrow and Linda HuangMade by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com)Special thanks to our Patreon Big Bang, Quasar and Hypernova Supporters: Big BangCoolAsCatsDavid NicklasFaisal SaudAnton LifshitsJoey RednerQuasarTambe BarsbayMayank M. MehrotaMars YenturMark RosenthalDean FuquaRoman PinchukFrank SeciliaColeslawPurdieHypernovaEdmund FokschanerMatthew O’ConnorEugene LawsonMartha HuntJoseph SalomoneChuck ZegarJordan YoungRatfeastJohn HofmannBarry HatfieldCraig PetersonKevin CostelloThanks to our Patreon Gamma Ray Burst Supporters: James HughesFabian OlesenKris FernetJane MeyersJames FlowersGreg AllenTJMadisonDenys IvanovNick VirtueAlexey EromenkoNicholas RoseScott GossettMark VasilePatrick MurraySultan AlkhulaifiAlex SotoMichal-Peanut KarmiErik SteinDaniel LyonsKevin WarneJJ BagnellJ RejcAvi GoldfingerJohn PettitFlorian StinglmayrBenoit Pagé-GuitardNathan LenizBrandon LabonteDavid CraneGreg Weiss Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2026

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACEUploaded 16-08-17Earth has its share of monster storms, but even our most powerful hurricanes are a breeze compared to the great, planet-sized tempests of the gas giants. LegalZoom is not a law firm or a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Get 15% off your next purchase at https://www.legalzoom.com/spacetime. ... You can further support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetimeGet your own Space Time t­shirt at http://bit.ly/1QlzoBiTweet at us! @pbsspacetimeFacebook: facebook.com/pbsspacetimeEmail us! pbsspacetime [at] gmail [dot] comComment on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/pbsspacetimePrevious Episode:The One-Electron Universehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dqtW...The great vortices of the Jovian planets are true storms, analogous in many ways to Earth’s hurricanes. There are, of course, some differences. For example, these storms are as big as entire planets. The largest and oldest storm in the solar system is Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, stretching an incredible two to three times the diameter of the planet Earth. Meanwhile the fastest winds ever measured, clocking fifteen hundred miles per hour, once raged in Neptune’s Great Dark Spot. Saturn’s Polar Vortex is a 20,000-mile-wide monster shaped like a hexagon. Even plain-looking Uranus hides USA-sized hurricanes below its methane haze. There are many unsolved mysteries surrounding these epic storms. We may be close to finding some answers, following the Juno spacecraft’s recent flyby of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.Juno's interactive website: https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/Written by Alexandra Yep and Matt O’Dowd Hosted by Matt O' DowdProduced by Rusty WardGraphics by Kurt RossAssistant Editing and Sound Design by Mike PetrowMade by Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com)Comments answer by Matt:Andres64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dqtW...Keith Gaughanhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dqtW...Vacuum Diagrams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dqtW...youteub akount https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dqtW...Don Solaris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dqtW...Special thanks to our Patreon Big Bang, Quasar and Hypernova Supporters: Big BangCoolAsCatsDavid NicklasQuasarTambe BarsbayMax LevineMayank M. MehrotaMars YenturMark RosenthalDean FuquaHypernovaEugene LawsonChuck ZegarJordan YoungRatfeastJohn HofmannJoseph Salomone Martha HuntCraig PetersonScience Via MarketsBarry HatfieldThanks to our Patreon Gamma Ray Burst Supporters: Peter DurocherMichael KersChris HicksMark VasilePatrick MurraySultan AlkhulaifiAlex SetoJared MooreMichal-Peanut KarmiBernardo HigueraErik SteinDaniel LyonsKevin WarneJJ BagnellJ RejcAmy JieAvi GoldfingerJohn PettitShannan CatalanoFlorian StinglmayrYubo DuBenoit Pagé-GuitardNathan LenizJessica FraleyLoro LukicBrandon LabonteDavid CraneGreg Weiss Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2026

Check Out PBS' Earth Month playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnNZYWyBGJ1F8ofFm4H9UTrHxqU8zngK4

See all episodes →