What If The Cosmological Constant Is NOT Constant?

Weathered: Earth's Extreme is available globally at: https://to.pbs.org/WeatheredST or the PBS App (US Only) Check out the Space Time Merch Store https://www.pbsspacetime.com/shop We know that the universe is getting bigger. And we know that the speed that the universe is getting bigger is also getting bigger. The standard assumption is that the acceleration rate is itself constant, which will surely result in ultimate heat death. But a recent survey of primordial sound waves frozen into the way galaxies are sprinkled through the universe reveals that this fate is now in question. 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 Richard Dyer & 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 Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell Special Thanks: Adam Schwartz & Kurt Ritta Spacetime is a production of Kornhaber Brown for PBS Digital Studios. This program is produced by Kornhaber Brown, which is solely responsible for its content. © 2024 PBS. All rights reserved. End Credits Music by J.R.S. Schattenberg: https://www.youtube.com/user/MultiDroideka Space Time Was Made Possible In Part By: Big Bang Wojciech Szymski Bryce Fort Peter Barrett Alexander Tamas Morgan Hough Juan Benet Vinnie Falco Mark Rosenthal Supernova Grace Biaelcki Glenn Sugden Ethan Cohen Stephen Wilcox The Tyacke boys Mark Heising Hypernova Richard Pavlicek Dean Galvin Michael Tidwell Robert DeChellis Stephen Spidle Chris Webb Justin Lloyd David Giltinan Kenneth See Gregory Forfa Alex Kern drollere Scott Gorlick Paul Stehr-Green Ben Delo Scott Gray Антон Кочков Robert Ilardi John R. Slavik Mathew Donal Botkin Edmund Fokschaner chuck zegar Daniel Muzquiz Gamma Ray Burst Param Saxena John De Witt Nathaniel Bennett Sandhya Devi Michael Oulvey Arko Provo Mukherjee Mike Purvis Christopher Wade Anthony Crossland Grace Seraph Stephen Saslow Tomaz Lovsin Anthony Leon Lori Ferris Koen Wilde Nicolas Katsantonis Richard Steenbergen Joe Pavlovic Chuck Lukaszewski Cole B Combs Andrea Galvagni Jerry Thomas Nikhil Sharma John Anderson Bradley Ulis Craig Falls Kane Holbrook Ross Story Harsh Khandhadia Matt Quinn Michael Lev Rad Antonov Terje Vold James Trimmier Jeremy Soller Paul Wood Kent Durham jim bartosh John H. Austin, Jr. Diana S Faraz Khan Almog Cohen Daniel Jennings Jeremy Reed David Johnston Michael Barton Isaac Suttell Bleys Goodson Mark Delagasse Mark Daniel Cohen Shane Calimlim Tybie Fitzhugh Eric Kiebler Craig Stonaha Frederic Simon Tonyface Jim Hudson Alex Gan John Funai Adrien Molyneux Bradley Jenkins Vlad Shipulin Justin Waters Thomas Dougherty Dan Warren Joseph Salomone Julien Dubois