TED Conversations

Sean Carroll

theoretical physicist,

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TED Speaker

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LIVE TED Conversation: Join TED Speaker Sean Carroll

LIVE conversation with cosmologist Sean Carroll, TEDxCaltech Speaker and author of From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time.

The conversation will open at 4pm (Eastern Standard Time), May 19, 2011. Sean is on vacation in Las Vagas, and will join us from his hotel room there to discuss the cosmos, the nature of time, and the science of poker.

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Topics: Cosmology Live Conversation physics time
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Closing Statement from Sean Carroll

Thanks for participating, everyone! I hope some light was shed. It's been a pleasure chatting with the TED community.

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  • Andrew Cross

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    May 19 2011: Sean, you stated that: "...empty space essentially lasts forever (but) since empty space gives off radiation there's actually thermal fluctuations and it cycles around all the different possible combinations of the degrees of freedom that exists in empty space."

    Does this make life possible in the empty space era?
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      Sean Carroll 50+

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      TED Speaker
      May 19 2011: Yes, absolutely, at least in principle. Indeed, that's the big question: if a model like this is right, why aren't we random fluctuations in an otherwise empty space, rather than finding ourselves in a warm and inviting universe filled with stars and galaxies?

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