In the latest episode of Master Minds, a student-run science podcast co-hosted by WashU seniors Will Leidig and Mishka Narasimhan, the Master Minds team interviews Mark Alford, a Washington University in St. Louis professor of physics and fellow in the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences. Listen to the interview, and find the full synopsis below.

Episode #29: Merging Neutron Stars with Prof. Mark Alford, PhD

We sat down with Professor Mark Alford, theoretical physicist and former chair of the Department of Physics at Washington University. Prof. Alford researches the physics of ultra-high density matter, such as in the core of a neutron star to get insights on how particles behave in situations that we do not encounter on Earth. He has also done important work on characterizing Quantum Chromodynamics, or QCD, which describes the strong interactions between quarks that make up larger particles like protons and neutrons. In this episode, we talk about some of the basics of quantum mechanics and how they are applied in studying astrophysical phenomena. We also touch on some important philosophical questions regarding how to use physics in understanding the nature of reality. We think the episode boils down many complex topics in physics so that anyone with a basic level of understanding will learn a lot.