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The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time

Season 38 Episode 17 | 53m 40s

Time. We waste it, save it, kill it, make it. The world runs on it. Yet ask physicists what time actually is, and the answer might shock you: They have no idea. Even more surprising, the deep sense we have of time passing from present to past may be nothing more than an illusion. How can our understanding of something so familiar be so wrong?

Aired: 11/07/11
National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.
Extras
Fósiles gigantes en el Sahara revelan nuevos secretos sobre la evolución de las ballenas.
They paid only $27.50 for it from a London bookseller in 1946.
Go behind the scenes as NOVA visits the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile.
You probably won’t win big playing the Lottery but your brain may want to keep trying.
Forensic science is put to the test after the first-ever staged multi-vehicle pileup.
Forensic science is put to the test after the first-ever staged multi-vehicle pileup.
A first-of-its-kind experiment aims to stage a multi-vehicle pileup to gain new data on car safety.
A first-of-its-kind experiment aims to stage a multi-vehicle pileup to gain new data on car safety.
After centuries of pseudoscience, researchers examine the causes of racial health disparities.
After centuries of pseudoscience, researchers examine the causes of racial health disparities.