What You Said: Physics Q&A

One hour. Two physicists. A lot of questions.

illustrated stack of books with text "scifri book club"This story is part of our summer Book Club conversation about Stephen Hawking’s 1988 book ‘A Brief History of Time.’ Want to participate? Sign up for our newsletter or call our special voicemail at 567-243-2456.


Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time has been praised for how it made physics accessible to a general audience. But even the most clear explanations can use some filling in at times. The SciFri Book Club’s resident readers and physicists, Priya Natarajan and Clifford Johnson, spent one hour on Twitter fielding your questions on physics, from how to detect new dimensions, to their pet peeves about depictions of physics in pop culture. Check out some of their responses below.

text on space background

On the multiverse:

On particle “spin”:

[Did you know that the Earth’s crust has created its own natural nuclear reactors?]

On time:

On new dimensions:

[You’ve heard of ants’ superhuman—er, superant—strength. But that’s just the beginning.]

On stereotypes:

On physics pet peeves:

On “new physics”:


Meet the Writer

About Johanna Mayer

Johanna Mayer is a podcast producer and hosted Science Diction from Science Friday. When she’s not working, she’s probably baking a fruit pie. Cherry’s her specialty, but she whips up a mean rhubarb streusel as well.

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