Thinking about bubbles in spacetime popping up with every quantum fluctuation can make one’s head spin. Cosmologist Andrei Linde sets upon the difficult task of explaining how fluctuating energy levels give rise to these new universes. He describes how they manifest unique qualities very different from our own universe, yet are able to exist harmlessly in adjacent space.

This program is part of The Big Idea Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

Image courtesy of Helmut W. Klug; Recorded June 2009; Posted April 2011