Something Weird Happens When E = –mc²

Veritasium unpacks how Paul Dirac’s quest to blend quantum mechanics with relativity led to mind-bending “negative energy” solutions in the Schrödinger and Klein–Gordon equations. When Dirac finally nailed down his eponymous equation, he realized it foretold a hidden anti-world full of anti-electrons (positrons) streaking backward in time—even before experiments confirmed their existence.

Along the way, we get a peek at Dirac’s quirky brilliance, Heisenberg’s uncertainty shenanigans, and the bittersweet chapters of early quantum physics. It’s a thrilling detective story of theory predicting reality, complete with time-travelling particles and the birth of antimatter.

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