Can We Test Quantum Gravity?

What if a groundbreaking experiment could finally reveal whether gravity is a quantum force?

Brian Greene sits down with Vlatko Vedral, Professor of Quantum Information Science at the University of Oxford, to explore one of the deepest questions in modern physics: Is gravity fundamentally quantum, or does it remain classical even at the most fundamental level?

They discuss Freeman Dyson’s argument that gravity may never need to be quantized, Roger Penrose’s proposal that gravity could play a role in shaping quantum mechanics, and Vedral’s own ideas for experiments that might settle the issue. The conversation explores whether the “Many Worlds” Interpretation truly captures what quantum mechanics implies and examines a thought experiment inspired by Schrödinger’s cat that challenges our understanding of observation, reality, and measurement. It’s a look at one of physics’ most compelling open questions and the remarkable ideas that could finally help answer it.

This program is part of the Rethinking Reality series, supported by the John Templeton Foundation.

This program can be watched here, and on our YouTube channel, starting at 7PM on Friday, May 26.