Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

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Miriam Frankel asks whether physics can ever explain the spark of life that differentiates animate and inanimate matter. Could there ever be a fundamental physical theory of consciousness? She's joined by physicist Jim Al-Khalili and physicist and astrobiologist Sara Walker in episode five of Great Mysteries of Physics — a podcast series from The Conversation, in collaboration with FQxI.

Visit qspace.fqxi.org to learn more about the mysteries of consciousness in the physical world.

Read more: theconversation.com/great-mysteries-of-physics-will-we-ever-have-a-fundamental-theory-of-life-and-consciousness-203127

Listen to other episodes in the series:

Is Time an Illusion: youtube.com/watch?v=aDM5PFMbty8
Is the Universe Finely-Tuned for Life? youtube.com/watch?v=HWnLqK6AOQU
Is there a Multiverse: youtube.com/watch?v=IZ8Fpl6g4dI
Does Objective Reality Exist? youtube.com/watch?v=UFKdbpcS2qU

Watch Sara Walker's talk, "Bio From Bit": youtube.com/watch?v=188K1ayJS58