From invisible particles causing disease to the Earth not being the center of everything - these scientific theories were once considered absurd but turned out to be true! Join us as we explore groundbreaking ideas that revolutionized our understanding of the universe, despite facing ridicule and rejection from the scientific community.
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00:00Then, over hundreds of millions of years, Pangea had split apart, and its jigsaw pieces had drifted to their present locations.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're discussing theories that are considered common knowledge now, but were once considered extremely ridiculous.
00:16And if someone watched you travel close to a black hole, they'd see time for you slow down dramatically.
00:25Number 10. Quantum Tunneling.
00:27So it turns out the electromagnetic repulsion, the two positive charges, you can sort of get them closer and closer if you speed them up by increasing the temperature of the plasma.
00:39The quantum world is remarkably different from our own.
00:42We apply Newtonian physics to human scales to describe it.
00:46On much smaller scales, we need quantum physics instead, with Newton's laws breaking down.
00:50One of the most peculiar phenomenon on quantum scales is quantum tunneling, in which a particle passes through a barrier in a way that shouldn't be possible.
00:58A particle has an extremely small chance of tunneling through a barrier, which usually wouldn't happen, but because there are so many particles, a significant quantity can tunnel through.
01:08It's tough to wrap your head around, but it's beyond proven at this point.
01:11Additionally, it's the reason why we're struggling to make computers more efficient, a dilemma that quantum computing could solve.
01:18The equations of quantum mechanics would help engineers design microscopic switches that direct the flow of tiny electrons and control virtually every one of today's computers, digital cameras, and telephones.
01:34Number 9. Atoms are mostly empty space.
01:37Scientists were shocked to discover that the atom is almost entirely empty space.
01:43The question then became, how could this empty atom possibly make the solid world around us?
01:51The void is an ancient Greek concept, holding that the universe is made of atoms moving through a necessary empty space.
01:58More than 2,000 years later, it was proven correct.
02:01Just ignore the blunder years when we thought atoms were like a plum pudding.
02:05Common sense tells us there's nothing there.
02:07But quantum physics tells us there's only nothing there on average.
02:12And it's those two words, on average, that force us to rethink our understanding of reality.
02:18Lord Rutherford shut that down in 1911 when he discovered the nucleus.
02:23Hence, if an atom were the size of a football pitch, the nucleus would be the size of a pea, with even smaller electrons flying around.
02:30Well, that's if you misunderstand the concept of electrons, which are better described as probability clouds.
02:37So, it's not truly empty, that's an oversimplification.
02:40It's filled with fields and forces, but it's less solid than we thought previously.
02:45We were able to walk without falling through into more nothing, but the surface itself is also nothing.
02:51Yes! Nothing! They get it! There's nothing! There's nothing out here, and there's nothing to say!
02:57Number 8. Heliocentrism.
02:59Your Holiness, Copernicus' new book says that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
03:03Who cares? I'm trying to figure out the miracle of how Jesus turned water into wine.
03:08The idea that the Sun is the center of the solar system was first proposed in the 5th century BC, by the Greeks, of course.
03:15It then fell from favor for centuries, until Renaissance mathematician and science legend Copernicus revitalized the idea.
03:23It was considered a heretical idea, since Christians were convinced that the Earth was at the center.
03:27The Church, along with almost everyone else, took the common sense view that the Earth did not move.
03:33It was solid and stable.
03:36And it was down here.
03:38And heaven was up there.
03:40This idea was a tough one to believe, since the orbits of stars and planets made close to no sense.
03:46Placing the Sun at the center solved these issues, and is now considered common sense.
03:50But once upon a time, you could be executed for believing in heliocentrism.
03:55When Copernicus put the planets going around the Sun, he discovered that the planet Mercury, which goes around in about three months, automatically fell closest to the Sun.
04:08Number 7. The Expanding Universe.
04:11Even though scientists are baffled, they know this thing called dark energy makes up 70% of what's out there in the cosmos.
04:19It's hypothesized that the universe will end with all particles drifting an infinite distance away from each other.
04:25This is called the heat death of the universe, wherein all cosmic structures no longer exist.
04:31Three major hypotheses for the universe's end were initially proposed, with the other two being the Big Crunch and the Big Rip.
04:37Observations of the universe's expansion suggested that these two scenarios were implausible.
04:42An idea so wild, even Einstein resisted it initially.
04:46Now it's been proven by all our observations.
04:49Hubble demonstrated that there's more to the universe than our own galaxy.
04:54He extended the reach of our senses further than we could have imagined.
04:58We still don't know why the universe is expanding, which is why we conceived of dark energy to drive expansion.
05:04The leading model for its origin is the Big Bang Theory, but with equally viable alternatives, don't consider it an absolute truth.
05:12It's a possibility that eventually, the expansion will get strong enough to rip apart atoms, to rip apart our very bodies.
05:19Number 6. Gravitational Time Dilation.
05:22Just as we think of all of space as being out there, we should think of all of time as being out there too.
05:31The idea that time passes differently depending on your velocity is already crazy, but it gets even wilder when gravity is thrown in.
05:38Originally proposed in Einstein's Theory of Relativity, it's since been suggested by all tests we've tried.
05:45One fascinating effect is that the Earth's core is roughly 2.5 years younger than its surface.
05:51It sounds like sci-fi, but it's totally real, measurable, and a major pain when deploying GPS satellites.
05:58You once told me that when you came back we might be the same age.
06:04And today I'm the age you were when you left.
06:07It means time is passing slightly slower for your feet than your head.
06:11Or the reverse if you're in Australia.
06:13Black holes take it to the extreme, slowing time down so much, an outside observer will see someone freeze as they fall in.
06:23But if you could travel to a black hole, the effect of gravity on time would be huge.
06:29Number 5. Quantum Entanglement.
06:31The discovery of quantum mechanics has revealed a reality, our reality, that's both shocking and thrilling, bringing us that much closer to fully understanding the fabric of the cosmos.
06:44Also known as spooky action at a distance, this theory is so ridiculous, Einstein hated it.
06:52He proposed the idea that nothing can travel faster than light, imposing it upon reality like a grouchy traffic warden.
06:58Well, too bad for him. It's been proven more than once.
07:02The theory says particles can become entangled with one another, turning them into a shared system, even when separated by huge distances.
07:11It goes against all basics of classical mechanics, but it's real.
07:15So what's the underlying cause? It's anyone's guess. Could be magic for all we know.
07:20This may sound far-fetched, but an impressive array of theoretical physicists believe it's the way the microscopic world works.
07:28Number 4. Mass Energy Equivalence.
07:31E equals mc squared is so remarkable that even Einstein wasn't sure if it was really true.
07:38Most people know Einstein's famous equation, E equals mc squared, but fewer understand its implications.
07:45It says mass can be converted into energy and vice versa.
07:48The theory is that mass is stored energy, the underlying principle behind nuclear power.
07:54He has heart palpitations, and he suddenly realized, oh my god, the theory is correct.
08:01In nuclear fission and fusion, tiny differences in mass result in a huge release of energy.
08:06Before Einstein, the consensus was that mass and energy were entirely separate.
08:11We had concepts like kinetic energy, thermal energy, etc., with mass being simply a fixed property.
08:17Then Einstein showed they're two sides of the same coin.
08:20It's just one of many ways Einstein revolutionized modern science.
08:25This insight would open the door to a mysterious world that had been beyond the reach of science.
08:31The world that contained the secrets of the universe.
08:34The world of the subatomic.
08:38Number 3. Continental Drift.
08:40The continent ruptures into several smaller pieces.
08:44These bits of land sail across the Earth.
08:47This was once considered a fringe science.
08:50So wild, it was often mocked by peers.
08:53Now, it's a basic concept in geology, alongside the topic of tectonic plates.
08:58The theory suggests that the Earth's surface is made out of tectonic plates,
09:02which slowly shift, causing things like mountains and earthquakes.
09:05He realized that all the continents in the world had once formed a giant, single landmass that he called
09:12Pangea, from the Greek, Pangea, meaning all Earth.
09:17Alfred Wegener was the pioneer of this concept, proposed in a paper in 1912.
09:22It took decades for it to be accepted, with most researchers considering it to be ludicrous.
09:27Wegener died in 1930, unfortunately not living long enough to see his theory become embraced in the 1950s.
09:33The ocean ridges marked the sites where ancient landmasses broke up.
09:38As the rift started, under tension acting at right angles to the ridge, the two continents moved away from each other.
09:46Number 2. Germ Theory of Disease.
09:49Even the most powerful optical microscopes could only magnify objects 2,000 times.
09:56They revealed a watery world of bacteria and single-celled creatures.
10:01You'll have a hard time finding people who aren't disgusted by things like spitting on the floor.
10:06A couple of centuries ago, few would have batted an eye.
10:09That's because the idea of germs spreading diseases was entirely alien.
10:14Before, people thought diseases came from bad air or even things like sin and curses.
10:20When will we know what this is?
10:21What causes it?
10:22What cures it?
10:24Things that keep people calm.
10:25Therefore, doctors would go from autopsy to childbirth without washing their hands.
10:31When someone came along and said it was tiny, invisible things infecting us, it sounded totally insane.
10:37Pioneers like Ignis Semmelweis proved handwashing drastically reduces deaths during childbirth.
10:43But his contemporaries ridiculed him.
10:45He even died in an asylum long before his ideas became widely understood.
10:50But some scientists believe that these living things could appear spontaneously, as if from nowhere.
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11:10Number 1. Darwinism.
11:15Darwin began to see the history of life as a vast family tree.
11:19Life began millions of years ago at the base of the tree.
11:23And as time went by, our ancestors evolved.
11:25Charles Darwin is a scientist so respected that his face is on British banknotes.
11:31Before he came along, people believed species were created as they are.
11:35As we now know, all life is connected through common descent, and species change through natural selection.
11:41While this idea was revolutionary, it was also widely offensive, making people initially furious.
11:47A tree of life.
11:50Each new species springs from the parent tree like a shoot.
11:58There are mountains of evidence supporting it, but Darwin had none of that in his lifetime.
12:03Even today, the theory is still banned or challenged by some.
12:06That's because it threatens deeply held beliefs about human uniqueness.
12:10But it's been rock solid for decades now.
12:13So much of modern science rests on evolutionary theory, making it one of the most significant ideas in history.
12:20On the Origin of Species became one of the most influential books ever published.
12:25It was an instant sensation that signaled the birth of modern biology.
12:30Are there any currently unconfirmed theories you're hoping will someday be proven?
12:34Leave them in the comments section.
12:36It is a simple, crude sketch.
12:39But Darwin's drawing is a radical new picture of life.
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