What Does it Take to Make a Universe? - with Harry Cliff

What is matter really made of? How does the stuff around us escape annihilation in the fearsome heat of the Big Bang? And will we ever be able to understand the very first moments of our universe?
Watch the Q&A: • Q&A: What Does it Take...
Harry's book "How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch" is available now: geni.us/harrycliff
Using the latest experimental data from the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva and labs and observatories around the world, including a neutrino detector buried a kilometre under an Italian mountain to a gravitational wave detector nestled in the humid pine forest of Louisiana, particle physicist Harry Cliff will reveal what the newest findings tell us about the the fundamental ingredients of matter and their origins.
Harry Cliff is a particle physicist at the University of Cambridge working on the LHCb experiment, a huge particle detector buried 100 metres underground at CERN near Geneva. He is a member of an international team of around 1400 physicists, engineers and computer scientists who are using LHCb to study the basic building blocks of our universe, in search of answers to some of the biggest questions in modern physics.
This talk was recorded on 10 August 2021.
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[@user-wu8yq1rb9t]

*Harry Cliff* is great, please record new videos with him. Thank you so much *RI*

[@lordofelectrons4513]

Apple pie recipe: Warm oven to 10^15 degrees add well ripened matter bake for 9.3 billion years remove from oven allow to cool for 4.5 billion years then serve.

[@marcusm6104]

One of the best communicators in science. Thank you!

[@RWBHere]

How to make an apple pie from scratch: First make a universe.

[@qaziharoon1835]

Invent

[@mighty8357]

Harry Cliff is such a fantastic lecturer! The way he talks and keep the attention of the audience is amazing to watch.

[@nenmaster5218]

Surely you agree on the random-but-truthfull comment that the Learning never ends, right? Well, with me, you have a person (not a robot, by the way) that loves to recommend science-youtuber and such. Soooo...

[@Danoz_die_wreckt]

He’s easy to listen to.

[@TheRoyalInstitution]

We are so pleased and honoured to have been able to launch our friend Harry Cliff's new book in our newly reopened lecture theatre!

[@harshadadagale4253]

Is there any way I can know when was this lecture was conducted, I read the description but there was no clue about it.

[@Ni999]

@@harshadadagale4253 Recorded 10 August 2021, now in the description.

[@Ni999]

So happy to see the lecture hall again!

[@harshadadagale4253]

@@Ni999 thanks

[@ableone7855]

Harry Cliff is one of the best lecturers you host at the Royal Institute. Smart, humorous and a very good scientist. Great style and presentation. Have him back soon, please.

[@notayoutuber3518]

I had an emotional reaction when I finally understood the concept of quantum fields during this video. I had to remove my glasses from my face and cat from my lap and just absorb this for a long moment.

[@MarthaWhiteMouse]

omg same here!!!

[@pwincess747]

Keep the Harry Cliff content coming please thanks 🙂

[@R037k]

what an incredible amount of information must there be in those strange fields. just wow.

[@katcandoo]

Harry Cliff has become one of my favorite presenters. Thank you for all the presentations on this wonderful site. First class!

[@shaheryaar]

what a lecture, what a lecture. An hour well spent.

[@lilianaordonez5474]

I watch his videos on my 81" TV, and it looks awesome! Thank you very much for breaking it down for regular people like me and my family. We are fascinated with his brilliant presenta, and we're learning a lot from you Mr Harry....

[@rafaqathussain2131]

Amazing job to share this incredible knowledge with all of us and to make it digestible for people like me who have little understanding of this highly advanced field of sience.

[@kevinmccarthy8746]

LOVE YOUR SHOW. GREAT SUBJECT. I saw your show concerning Particle fields, fantastic. Thank you.

[@hackcrew42]

Another Harry Cliff lecture, finally!! Live as well wow what a treat

[@ableone7855]

Great presentation by the lecturer. Look forward to more presentations by this presenter,

[@geeky_explorer9105]

The best part of his lecture are he tells Stories and connects almost every beats of physics

[@jimbernard8964]

This lecture is solid gold! Thanks. I don't know the details of this but it seems a crying shame that the lecture hall seems about only half full.

[@germanpenn]

I was between this lecture and “how to make a cliff” by Harry Universe. I’m glad I chose this one

[@trupyrodice4462]

Lol, excellent. I wonder tho, what instruments, maths, and techniques were used to predict and detect the particles in a Cliff that Dr. Universe utilized compile his book. I suppose we just have to watch that lecture as well. Cheers

[@Bobbias]

I remember watching the Higgs announcement live. I was amazed at how well I understood the presentations as a lay person. Witnessing the announcement live, seeing the graphs and realizing how long it took to answer that question made for quite an experience.

[@bipolarbear9917]

"The Cosmos is within us. We are made of star stuff. Star stuff contemplating the stars" - Carl Sagan

[@super_ficial]

A universe being created is not only redundant it is deliberately misleading. There is only Creation.

[@aurelienyonrac]

Are you a body, or do you have a body? You are unfathomable. (Can't measure)

[@super_ficial]

@@aurelienyonrac My ego tells me that I am a body, but I know better. I've seen four primary color and I've been aloft of my, 'Made the the USA' ephemeral body. I'm looking forwards to giving up this Ghost. (You sure know the right questions to ask). God bless and stand tall.

[@lancenowlin1571]

P

[@hassannabil9792]

Excellent presentation. Thanks for providing it.

[@martenwillemhaven]

Really great accessible explanation of complex matter with great enthusiasm!

[@kinnaribhalerao8112]

Amazing! I'm an engineering student but physics never fails to fascinate me. Solace at it's best!

[@MichaelMonterey]

Uh, excuse me, but the CERN experiments left out a few prerequisites: 1 - a pre-existent source of energy, 2 - a pre-energy process for forming forms & modes, 3 - a pre-existing cause of the previous prerequisites (of existence & expansion/explosion), 4 - pre-existing forms, properties & processes that enable expansive/explosive action/reaction, 5 - pre-existing causes of motion, implosion, expansion/explosion, etc., 6 - pre-causal sources/processes to endow the tiniest forms of form with powers, etc., 7 - pre-existent principles & qualities of being that enabled & sustain everything, 8 - pre-natural causes for everything existing in a the tiniest possible point of nothingness in the middle nowhere, 9 - existential causes of a sudden expansion of nothingness to the size of a tennis ball then, without definite causes, to become an ongoing explosion of everything (at least 93 billion LY in diameter, so far), and 10 - a cause of belief in a SM QM cosmology that ignores the preceding 9 prerequisites of being, existence, AKA reality. > So, a real recipe for a universe of being, its nature & energy has to start with nonphysical thus changelessly reliable enabling principles.

[@andreasgeorgiou5276]

A very interesting talk. I think Democritus is judged a bit harshly since the man lived 2500 years ago. Very little of his atomic hypothesis has survived to be seriously assessed, but as with many ancient Greek philosophers whose admirable speculations on the natural world certainly marks the beginning of humankind’s enquiry, it is not so much what they achieved but what they attempted. If anything, successors to these early speculators are far more guilty for not taking up and developing the more promising of these early ideas. The Atomic hypothesis of Democritus is reportedly a very small part of his total output, which also included contributions in mathematics, ethics, politics, biology, cosmology etc. In any-case, it was 2000 years later before any real scientific process was made. Give him his due! This is not to take away any credit from John Dalton’s great contribution to chemistry.

[@Dan-zq5wt]

I had the same immediate reaction! I thought that was an unfair comment. Democritus was probably a genius. However, I do like this speaker!

[@karthikshiva9801]

Taking nothing away from Democritus and his fellow Greek philosophers, it's a bit of a strech to claim that their thoughts & speculations marks humankind's enquiry 😂😂 Lot of other cultures including some from the cradle itself started this exploration from way before

[@andreasgeorgiou5276]

@@karthikshiva9801 No doubt other cultures contributed to human knowledge, much lost to history. It is open to question, but it is generally accepted that this period in Greece marks the most important development in human enquiry.

[@candidobertetti27]

It's fascinating how even the smartest people are overwhelmed by their national pride. He had to dismiss Democritus as a mere windbag and replace him by Englishman John Dalton, who lived more than two thousand years later. Amazing.

[@michaeltaylor6133]

Thank you very much, that was a very enjoyable lecture.

[@darrellee8194]

When I clicked I was hoping it would be back in the auditorium and it Is! Hooray!

[@samsoneczek]

Fantastic! As always! Thank God for Royal Institution! Everybody need some magic in this strange world.

[@briankepner7569]

The standard model idea makes sense to me but if I was a physicist trying to figure it out, in the same way that I repair cars I always tend to end up with important looking bits left over that I have no idea where they go. Sure the car will run but I do keep those bits in a box in the back just in case. Yes I'm not a physicist but I love these lectures

[@MutsPub]

Well done. Thank you.

[@humlakullen]

Great... So, when does consciousness enter the picture in the evolution of the universe?

[@bryandraughn9830]

55:10*perpendicular Lol! This is so awesome!! Progress is happening after such a long period of hitting walls! LIGO and the James Webb telescope are going to provide much needed data. I might be able to witness more advancements before......y'know.

[@harshadadagale4253]

Yes he said parallel but the rest of the talk was correct I suppose

[@sophiebarbara4111]

When can we expect Harry Cliff in the RI theatre again?

[@nenmaster5218]

Surely you agree on the random-but-truthfull comment that the Learning never ends, right? Well, with me, you have a person (not a robot, by the way) that loves to recommend science-youtuber and such. Soooo...

[@RFC-3514]

11:02 - Well, if it "increased as the square of the distance", it would become stronger as they got further away, not closer. It's actually _inversely_ proportional to the square of the distance (and directly proportional to the product of the charges).

[@YankeeTankee]

Harry Cliff takes on a difficult but very interesting topic. Well preaented! Thank you Ri!

[@TheRoyalInstitution]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@canvey555]

Welcome back guys, great talk

[@fastman119]

Love watching this guy's physics talks

[@nenmaster5218]

Surely you agree on the random-but-truthfull comment that the Learning never ends, right? Well, with me, you have a person (not a robot, by the way) that loves to recommend science-youtuber and such. Soooo...

[@JohnDlugosz]

Guest to grillmaster: What kind of charcoal is this, Willow? Grillmaster: No, apple pie.

[@harshadadagale4253]

Lol had to get 6 minutes into lecture to get this humour

[@mileshall9235]

Nice little decoration in the background. Looks like Sol Lewitt.

[@LeonidKornikov]

Very interesting, thank you.

[@Eztoez]

I wish someone would text that bloke behind him to show a little respect to Professor Cliff and put his cellphone down. He's been looking at it the entire time.

[@ranilany8646]

Fantastic talk!

[@charlesaeneas]

I'm making my way through the book which is extremely readable and makes more sense than most books I've read about particle physics or quantum mechanics. I am overawed by the sheer unwoldliness of it all!

[@ihavefallenandicantreachmy2113]

"Unwoldiness"? Just in time for Unwoldinesstmas!

[@brettbrannon4775]

This was a great video and the speaker was even better at explaining and keeping it interesting😁

[@AISFORGODHAPPYONLYI-]

👌

[@AISFORGODHAPPYONLYI-]

🌐🎫👌😮

[@bigbear7567]

Very entertaining and interesting video.

[@reallyryan_]

This was brilliant! :D

[@garydecad6233]

Excellent presentation

[@hamburgerlord9552]

Great video🤘

[@thewaythingsare8158]

I am almost halfway through the book and it too is beautifully fluid and engaging - quite a skill for what you might imagine would be a very challenging subject. Am getting smarter by the page. Thought the cover was a bit naff so covered it with a Hubble deep field printout instead....might paste a mr Kipling floating in it later

[@ihavefallenandicantreachmy2113]

Put some "Pigs, In Space", in there, please. Just in time for Pigstmas! How about "Ren and Stimpy" and/or "Newt Gingrinch", just in time for Newt Year! Mr. Kipling wearing a William Shatner Rug? "Rugyard Kipling." No?

[@lumidoo8753]

Great lecture 👌

[@taymazdizali1894]

Perfect for understanding the universe.

[@candidobertetti27]

lol

[@qualquan]

This guy is the best explainer of current particle physics and admits our flawed concepts regards Higgs @31:45

[@candidobertetti27]

He also explains how those flaws were addressed and fixed.

[@strikkmoez]

Amazing talk.

[@pilotactor777]

Great immitation of Carl Sagan!!! You had me at that moment!!!

[@matthewdolan5831]

Nice one 👍

[@Beroanimation72]

So interesting for your presentation, thank you so much. Where can I buy your book?

[@TheRoyalInstitution]

This will take you to your local Amazon - geni.us/harrycliff - but many independent book stores also stock it!

[@sonarbangla8711]

Indeed, to make an apple pie you need to make a universe. Maldacena (21st century Einstein) conjectured that the universe is a QC function, error correcting, coherent and deterministic, implying divine purpose (not Sagan's accident). And before you cook your apple pie, you need a finite axion algorithm, you will never get.

[@lucyoldfield1578]

I feel the likelihood of a multiverse is very real ⚡️🔥🌟

[@zoozolplexOne]

Very good talk

[@tresajessygeorge210]

THANK YOU...!!!

[@asrajan55]

How come there are no question answer sessions after these lectures like you have in the U.S?

[@LairdJ56]

I want that book for Christmas 👏👏👏

[@charlesandrews2419]

Food for thought... As we ponder the recipe for the universe. We are all star stuff.

[@TheJesusr1]

Excellent presenter!

[@colleenforrest7936]

About Inflation... What would be the difference between something happening really fast vs something happening at a slower rate but nothing or very little changed during that time and then fell off the horizon of what we could detect?

[@gyro5d]

Higgs field is the Inertial plane. Casimir Effect; Space and Counterspace, Electrons and Positrons are the plates,. The near infinite capacitance of the Inertial plane, attracts and repels the plates. Scalable Aether Universe!

[@gyro5d]

From the near infinite capacitance of the Inertial plane out the electron vortex. Pulses from Counterspace create shells of tau, muon, electron. "The smaller the spacial footprint, the higher the capacitance." "The higher the gauss, the smaller its field."

[@Zorlof]

Since the spectrum from antimatter is identical to matter, how do we know there are no antimatter galaxies out there?

[@ngDetecter]

generous introduction: 0:00 😁

[@ilymortygivegrandpaakiss5231]

Wonderful 🍎

[@davidbrisbane7206]

How to make an apple pie from nothing. Start with apples.

[@bad-bunnyblogger8171]

If nothing exists to observe a universe. Does the universe cease to exist. Maybe life and consciousness plays a bigger role?

[@zerodivider4333]

Back in the lecture theater. Woot woot.

[@Locreai]

We live in a hyper dimensional soundwave universe and the coalescence, trough, crest, and crash of frequencies drop out the sound waves into matter.

[@afriedrich1452]

I seems that physicists were not computing the properties of the muon correctly in the past. This seems to explain the g-2 anomaly and may also explain the LHCb anomaly.

[@euclidofalexandria3786]

remember too that radiation can be due to internal complexity, and / or surface complexity upon a knot, diffable not continuuous however... its both, especially under different scaling lengths.

[@ishmaelforester9825]

in earthling, 'I am that I am. Tell them I am has sent you. '

[@pineapplepenumbra]

43:06 Beauty is fleeting....

[@paulbrookes413]

TREE OF KNOWLEDGE

[@gospelofthomas77thpearl22]

The bits of the recipe that are missing are in 77th Pearl: The Perpetual Tree. 🖖🏼

[@NickAbbot.]

@44:00 Indirectly, he refers to gravity as a force.

[@euclidofalexandria3786]

9:02 secs do photons have a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery small mass? complexity thresholds and coalescence of slowed light into matter. Compactification can be seen in the 5 fundamental nodes of plasma movement... compactification of enegy and volume can be studied and foresite can be used as well...

[@SzTz100]

Harry, I didn't recognise you with the beard. Great lecture as usual.

[@nenmaster5218]

Surely you agree on the random-but-truthfull comment that the Learning never ends, right? Well, with me, you have a person (not a robot, by the way) that loves to recommend science-youtuber and such. Soooo...

[@tom-kz9pb]

By the time that you have a veritable zoo full of elementary particles, probably what this is telling you is that whatever these things are, they are not "elementary". Perhaps what we discover is the limits of our ability to observe and measure. It is not clear that science could really approach the question of what would necessitate the laws of physics to be as they are. In the multiverse concept, it seems likely that physical laws are not always the same, but even so, what would drive the process of "multiverse"? That answer might have to remain speculative and philosophical. The real basic building blocks are perhaps 1) circular definitions 2) paradox, 3) double negatives 4) random possibilities.

[@geeky_explorer9105]

Long waited lecture

[@walkabout16]

In the realm of cosmic wonder, where mysteries unfurl, Harry Cliff beckons, with wisdom to swirl. "What does it take to make a universe?" he asks, In the cosmic dance, where questions bask. At The Royal Institution, where knowledge gleams, Harry guides us through the cosmic streams. From the birth of stars to the depths of space, He unveils the secrets of time and place. With every particle collision, a glimpse of creation, In the quest for answers, a cosmic sensation. From quarks to galaxies, in the cosmic ballet, Harry Cliff leads the way, night and day. What forces shape the fabric of existence? In the symphony of particles, with persistent insistence. Dark matter, black holes, and the cosmic dust, Harry's insights, in the universe's trust. In the tapestry of space-time, where wonders reside, Harry Cliff's wisdom, like a cosmic guide. With every question asked, a universe unfurls, In the cosmic journey, where knowledge swirls.

[@gyro5d]

Or, Matter is in Space and Mass is in Counterspace! The Bullet Cluster Galaxy. Have a wheel rotating, stop the wheel, let go. The wheel starts rotating, because its Mass in Counterspace is still rotating.

[@aaronh.8230]

So, is matter (actually, mass) just an emergent property of energy slowing down?

[@rustycherkas8229]

If so, then we are all, basically, made of light!! Still doesn't explain why some are 'brighter' than others, though...

[@macroman52]

The quantum fields sound a bit like the 19century ether. Didn't Helmholtz think of an atom as a vortex in the "ether fluid"?

[@mikebellamy]

_"There is a whole bunch of other particles we don't really understand why they exist"_ means you don't understand the how the model works! So how can you be so sure you understand where it came from?

[@ezbody]

Despite how smart the scientists are, they consistently fail at naming the particles in a way that would make them easier to organize and understand.

[@elizabethdavis52]

I believe it was Carl Sagan who said, “in order to make a Universe, you must first make a pi.”

[@RupertBruce]

So the Higgs Field distorts space time that then distorts the path of photons even though photons are not affected by the Higgs Field themselves?

[@luciddewseed3095]

yups

[@radishpineapple74]

Any kind of confined interaction represents mass. A photon has no rest mass, but if you put it into a perfect mirrored box, then even though it's bouncing around at the speed of light, from a distance the box appears to have a photon that's basically at rest since it's not moving out of the box. The photon box thus has a confined interaction (photon with the walls of the box) and it has a mass proportional to the number of photons in the box, due to E=mc^2. Also, the more tightly confined the photons, the smaller their wavelength must be, and thus the more mass the box has (this comes from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle). This is how protons and neutrons get most of their mass: they are systems of tightly confined quarks and gluons which have little to no mass themselves, but because they're stuck in a tiny "box", they have significant mass. By the way, this same thing does apply to other confined systems like electrons in an atom, but because the forces involved are quite weak, this confined interaction mass is negligible. Electrons themselves are always engaging in an interaction with the Higgs field which changes a particular property back and forth at a tremendous frequency. Electrons cannot escape this interaction because the Higgs field has a positive value everywhere; if not for this interaction, electrons would retain one of these values until colliding with another discrete particle. Thus electrons are constantly in a confined "box" of interaction created by the Higgs field. This means that electrons have mass even if they're not apparently interacting with anything, because actually they're always interacting with the Higgs field at a high frequency. Finally, any mass causes a curvature in spacetime. You can think of photons as always going in straight lines, with what counts as "straight" being distorted by mass. You can also think of photons as interacting with anything with mass. Both views are equivalent so long as they arrive at the same answer, so it's a matter of taste which way you'd prefer to think about it.

[@foodhead4677]

Asking the question is different than having the correct answer

[@paulskillman7595]

Take two eggs, a cup of flower and a cup of milk. Mix well!

[@stevoofd]

43:17 so quarks turn into Tetris blocks?

[@busyhive2346]

I always ask myself how is it even possible that our teachers are able to make science such a boring subject - there is nothing more exciting than science as a subject - it should be a mandatory subject - it represents the “ language of our existence” .

[@manmarvel]

Schools within imperial systems capitalists or not are not made to educate you they’re made to make you good workers. They’re there to get you used to suffering. That’s why I have you look at most famous scientist there either a the children of rich people or they had some really important mentor in their life on top of being smart(lucky)

[@loftsatsympaticodotc]

@@manmarvel This dystopian view is hard to digest; i.e. not true whatsoever! As someone who spent 20 years studying at 4 different institutions, this could not be further from the truth. In deed the liberal arts schools do not emphasize practical trades. If you want to become a blacksmith, or plumber, or "put-part-A-into-hole-B" production line worker,, the LAST place you would find this is our universities or even high schools. You are maybe thinking of a 'trade school'? Even there the mysterires of material science are well displayed for analysis.

[@manmarvel]

@@loftsatsympaticodotc i dont know man, i think were talking like elementary middle and highschool here.

[@manmarvel]

by the time your in college you ususally love what you are learning.

[@manmarvel]

@@loftsatsympaticodotc problem is most people never fall in love with learning, hence my 1st comment.

[@war-in-youforyou9105]

Electron Flood Theory

[@gyro5d]

It's called the Aether Field! e->~