Episode notes
In this illuminating episode, we delve into the fascinating realm of black holes, where extreme gravitational forces create conditions that challenge our understanding of chemistry and physics. Through engaging interviews with astrophysicists and theoretical physicists, we explore how these cosmic devourers—from stellar-mass black holes formed by collapsing stars to supermassive giants lurking at galactic centers—warp not just spacetime but potentially the very rules of chemical interaction. Our journey takes us from the event horizon, where light itself cannot escape, to the theoretical chemistry occurring at the boundary of known science, where we'll examine how extreme gravitational fields might affect atomic and molecular behavior. We'll investigate the crucial role of accretion disks, explaining how these superheated swirls of matter around ...