Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Can we actually test whether the multiverse is real? Not just philosophicallybut scientifically?
Quantum physicist Maria Violaris presents five remarkable experiments, from Schrödinger's cat to Google's Willow quantum chip, that put the multiverse to the test. Along the way, she untangles two of the strangest phenomena in all of physics — quantum measurement and entanglement — and reveals how a thought experiment designed to test the multiverse in 1985 accidentally launched today's billion-dollar quantum computing race.
Maria also shares a puzzling thought experiment of her own that overturns a long-held assumption: that you can never communicate across branches of the multiverse.
Join this channel to get access to Maria's exclusive Member's Only Q&A:
youtube.com/channel/UCYeF244yNGuFefuFKqxIAXw/join
Subscribe for regular science videos: bit.ly/RiSubscRibe
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Maria Violaris is a quantum physicist and prize-winning science communicator with a PhD in the foundations of quantum information from the University of Oxford. She works on quantum theory research at Oxford Quantum Circuits, runs a YouTube channel and the Quantum Foundations Podcast, and pioneered the use of quantum thought experiments for quantum computing education through her Quantum Paradoxes series at IBM Quantum.
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Find Maria's work:
▶ YouTube: youtube.com/@maria_violaris
🎙 Quantum Foundations Podcast: youtube.com/watch?v=Dcha45XOOSk&list=PLlzqzbe3LGN8_fiJ9Pg_cFAkP3SJRgp8D
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Chapters below ↓
0:00 Introduction
2:14 Schrödinger's Cat and the Multiverse
5:04 Many Worlds vs Single World: Can We Test It?
10:27 How the Multiverse Debate Created Quantum Computing
16:31 The Quantum Bomb Tester
26:24 Quantum Entanglement and Teleportation
39:12 Does Google's Quantum Computer Prove the Multiverse?
46:52 Communicating Across the Multiverse
_____________________________________________
The Ri is on Facebook: facebook.com/royalinstitution
and TikTok: tiktok.com/@ri_science
Listen to the Ri podcast: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ri-science-podcast
Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: rigb.org/support-us/donate-ri
Our editorial policy: rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments
Subscribe for the latest science videos: bit.ly/RiNewsletter
Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.
_____________________________________________
#quantum #multiverse #quantumphysics
Can we actually test whether the multiverse is real? Not just philosophicallybut scientifically?
Quantum physicist Maria Violaris presents five remarkable experiments, from Schrödinger's cat to Google's Willow quantum chip, that put the multiverse to the test. Along the way, she untangles two of the strangest phenomena in all of physics — quantum measurement and entanglement — and reveals how a thought experiment designed to test the multiverse in 1985 accidentally launched today's billion-dollar quantum computing race.
Maria also shares a puzzling thought experiment of her own that overturns a long-held assumption: that you can never communicate across branches of the multiverse.
Join this channel to get access to Maria's exclusive Member's Only Q&A:
youtube.com/channel/UCYeF244yNGuFefuFKqxIAXw/join
Subscribe for regular science videos: bit.ly/RiSubscRibe
_____________________________________________
Maria Violaris is a quantum physicist and prize-winning science communicator with a PhD in the foundations of quantum information from the University of Oxford. She works on quantum theory research at Oxford Quantum Circuits, runs a YouTube channel and the Quantum Foundations Podcast, and pioneered the use of quantum thought experiments for quantum computing education through her Quantum Paradoxes series at IBM Quantum.
_____________________________________________
Find Maria's work:
▶ YouTube: youtube.com/@maria_violaris
🎙 Quantum Foundations Podcast: youtube.com/watch?v=Dcha45XOOSk&list=PLlzqzbe3LGN8_fiJ9Pg_cFAkP3SJRgp8D
_____________________________________________
Chapters below ↓
0:00 Introduction
2:14 Schrödinger's Cat and the Multiverse
5:04 Many Worlds vs Single World: Can We Test It?
10:27 How the Multiverse Debate Created Quantum Computing
16:31 The Quantum Bomb Tester
26:24 Quantum Entanglement and Teleportation
39:12 Does Google's Quantum Computer Prove the Multiverse?
46:52 Communicating Across the Multiverse
_____________________________________________
The Ri is on Facebook: facebook.com/royalinstitution
and TikTok: tiktok.com/@ri_science
Listen to the Ri podcast: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ri-science-podcast
Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: rigb.org/support-us/donate-ri
Our editorial policy: rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments
Subscribe for the latest science videos: bit.ly/RiNewsletter
Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.
_____________________________________________
#quantum #multiverse #quantumphysics
