358 | Solo: Vacuum Energy and the Cosmological Constant
About this episode
Sean Carroll discusses vacuum energy and the cosmological constant, exploring their origins and implications in fundamental physics.
The most surprising discovery in fundamental physics during my career as a scientist was undoubtedly the acceleration of the universe , announced in 1998. The most straightforward explanation for these observations is a positive cosmological constant, or vacuum energy. I talk about the origin of the idea with Einstein, how quantum physicists started to think about it and understand the "cosmological constant problem," as well as how its discovery also raised the "coincidence problem." This is the first of two connected solo episodes; the next will be on theories of dark energy that are not the cosmological constant. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/06/22/358-solo-vacuum-energy-and-the-cosmological-constant/ Support Mindscape on Patreon .
People in this episode
Host: Sean Carroll
Topics covered
- vacuum energy
- cosmological constant
- dark energy
- fundamental physics
- universe acceleration
Keywords
- vacuum energy
- cosmological constant
- universe acceleration
- Einstein
- quantum physics
- coincidence problem
- dark energy theories
More episodes of Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
- 361 | Bonnie Bassler on How Bacteria Talk and Work Together
- Mindscape Ask Me Anything, Sean Carroll | July 2026
- 360 | Marc Berman on the Science of Touching Grass
- 359 | Solo: Theories of Dark Energy
- 357 | Jeff Coller on mRNA, Vaccines, and Bespoke Therapeutics
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas podcast page.