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Quantum Fields: The Real Building Blocks of the Universe - with David Tong

The Royal Institution · 6.9M views · 2017-02-15 · 1:00:18

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Overview

David Tong, a Cambridge theoretical physicist, explains at the Royal Institution that the fundamental building blocks of nature are quantum fields rather than particles. He covers what we know about these fields and how they fit into the Standard Model.

On Hacker News

Called a favorite and a masterpiece by commenters as the clearest accessible explanation that there are only waves in fields, and what physics still doesn't know.

Recommended by 5 HN people across 6 months · HN mentions 2019–2025

Topics

Quantum physicsFundamental physics
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quantum fieldsstandard modelparticle physicsdavid tongroyal institution

What people said

jaggs · 2025-04 · Strong recommendation

His quantum mechanics lecture on YouTube at the Royal Society I think, is a masterpiece. Some very interesting facts, mostly about what we don't know. [VIDEO]

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thekevan · 2025-01 · Strong recommendation

When I see "explanation of the Standard Model", my mind immediately goes to my favorite YT video, which is Dr Tong's talk at the Royal Institution. I started watching this video and it took me a second to recognize the voice, it's him as well! If you want a long version: [VIDEO]

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Eupraxias · 2022-08 · Strong recommendation

I would love to hear any critical take on David Tong's excellent video here: [VIDEO] "Quantum Fields: The Real Building Blocks of the Universe" I'm interested to talk to others who want to think about QFT past the maths. I had my own stab at making sense of related ontological implications here: [LINK]

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Sources

Video by The Royal Institution, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

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