Does the Planck Length Break E=MC^2?

Does the Planck Length Break E=MC^2?

From PBS Space Time by PBS

April 29, 2026 · 25 min

About this episode

The episode explores the implications of the Planck length on Einstein's famous equation E=mc^2 and its extensions.

On November 29th, 20% off the whole merch store! https://www.pbsspacetime.com/shop Every good nerd knows that E=mc^2. Every great nerd knows that, really, E^2=m^2c^4+p^2c^2 Want to know what that even means? Sure, I’ll tell you, but today I’d like to invite you to an even higher level of nerdom with extra bits to Einstein’s famous equation that will make even the greatest nerds quiver in their … space time merch if they turn out to be real. PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to:http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE Sign Up on Patreon to get access to the Space Time Discord! https://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetime Sign up for the mailing list to get episode notifications and hear special announcements! https://mailchi.mp/1a6eb8f2717d/spacetime Search the Entire Space Time Library Here: https://search.pbsspacetime.com/ Hosted by Matt O'Dowd Written by Christopher Pollack & Matt O'Dowd Post Production by Leonardo Scholzer, Yago Ballarini & Stephanie Faria Directed by Andrew Kornhaber Associate Producer: Bahar Gholipour Executive Producer: Andrew Kornhaber Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing…

People in this episode

Host: Matt O'Dowd

Topics covered

  • Planck length
  • Einstein's equation
  • theoretical physics
  • science education
  • merchandise promotion

Keywords

  • Planck length
  • E=mc^2
  • theoretical physics
  • Einstein
  • science education

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: PBS, Kornhaber Brown, PBS Digital Studios

Books & works: E=mc^2, E^2=m^2c^4+p^2c^2

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