PostHole
Compose
Login
Brian Greene
Brian Greene studies the universe at the largest and smallest scales imaginable. When he was just twelve years old, Brian wandered round Columbia University in New York looking for someone to teach him mathematics, with a letter of recommendation from his school teacher. While his mother wanted him to make money, his father encouraged Brian to pursue his passion, which was trying to understand the nature of the universe.
He studied physics at Harvard University and won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. While at Oxford he learnt about a bold new Theory of Everything which predicts that the universe is made not of particles but rather tiny strings which vibrate in multiple dimensions. Now a Professor at Columbia University, he has worked on string theory ever since.
He talks to Jim Al-Khalili about the rise and fall of string and superstring theory and why when he first started to think about what would happen to the universe at the end of time, he experienced a feeling of ‘hollow dread’.
Accessibility links
BBC World Service
Discovery
- Discovery Home
- Episodes
- Galleries
- Podcast
- Join us on Facebook
Main content
Listen now
Brian Greene
Discovery
Brian Greene studies the universe at the largest and smallest scales imaginable.
Brian Greene studies the universe at the largest and smallest scales imaginable. When he was just twelve years old, Brian wandered round Columbia University in New York looking for someone to teach him mathematics, with a letter of recommendation from his school teacher. While his mother wanted him to make money, his father encouraged Brian to pursue his passion, which was trying to understand the nature of the universe.
He studied physics at Harvard University and won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University. While at Oxford he learnt about a bold new Theory of Everything which predicts that the universe is made not of particles but rather tiny strings which vibrate in multiple dimensions. Now a Professor at Columbia University, he has worked on string theory ever since.
He talks to Jim Al-Khalili about the rise and fall of string and superstring theory and why when he first started to think about what would happen to the universe at the end of time, he experienced a feeling of ‘hollow dread’.
###
####
Higher quality (128kbps)
Lower quality (64kbps)
Available now
27 minutes
Last on
Sun 2 Aug 2020
23:32GMT
BBC World Service
More episodes
Previous
Next
Human Genome Project's 20th Anniversary
See all episodes from Discovery
Clip
String theory: How many dimensions are there?
Duration: 02:34
Broadcasts
Mon 27 Jul 2020
19:32GMT
BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
Tue 28 Jul 2020
03:32GMT
BBC World Service
Tue 28 Jul 2020
08:32GMT
BBC World Service
Space
The eclipses, spacecraft and astronauts changing our view of the Universe
The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry
[The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry]
A pair of scientific sleuths answer your perplexing questions. Ask them anything!
Podcast
Discovery
Explorations in the world of science.
Similar programmes
By genre:
- Factual > Science & Nature
By format:
Magazines & Reviews
[BBC World Service homepage]
News in more than 40 languages