{"id":4790,"date":"2026-02-16T00:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T00:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paultalks.science\/blog\/?p=4790"},"modified":"2026-08-27T00:20:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T00:20:45","slug":"when-the-cosmic-web-spins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paultalks.science\/blog\/when-the-cosmic-web-spins\/","title":{"rendered":"When the Cosmic Web Spins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: When the Cosmic Web Spins\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/45JzNW8r5hagf5BCXxwd0O?si=QHWsq7DiTNuVWV9fhiKavQ&amp;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What if the largest structures in the Universe aren\u2019t just expanding \u2014 but spinning?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this episode, host Paul Adepoju explores one of the most intriguing recent developments in cosmology: evidence that a vast cosmic filament stretching tens of millions of light-years may be rotating. The conversation builds on <a href=\"https:\/\/physics.aps.org\/articles\/v19\/17\">\u2060Paul\u2019s feature for <em>Physics Magazine<\/em>\u2060<\/a>, originally developed as the winning pitch of the <a href=\"https:\/\/physics.aps.org\/articles\/v19\/16\">\u2060Quantum Pitch Competition\u2060<\/a> \u2014 launched by <em>Physics Magazine<\/em> in partnership with <em>Physics World<\/em> to mark the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. His article described how astronomers detected large-scale galactic motion using radiation produced by tiny quantum \u201cspin flips\u201d in hydrogen atoms. Read it <a href=\"https:\/\/physics.aps.org\/articles\/v19\/17\">\u2060here\u2060<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drawing on that reporting and an in-depth interview with astrophysicist Dr. Madalina Tudorache, this episode examines how galaxies align along cosmic filaments, how neutral-hydrogen observations reveal coordinated motion, and why angular momentum at these scales is reshaping questions about galaxy formation and large-scale structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along the way, we connect quantum-scale measurements \u2014 the 21-centimeter hydrogen transition \u2014 to observations of the cosmic web, discuss the role of South Africa\u2019s MeerKAT telescope in enabling the discovery, and reflect on how global collaboration and African radio-astronomy infrastructure are influencing frontier astrophysics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This episode unpacks the discovery, the physics behind it, and the broader story of how we come to understand motion across the Universe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What if the largest structures in the Universe aren\u2019t just expanding \u2014 but spinning? In this episode, host Paul Adepoju explores one of the most intriguing recent developments in cosmology: evidence that a vast cosmic filament stretching tens of millions of light-years may be rotating. The conversation builds on \u2060Paul\u2019s feature for Physics Magazine\u2060, originally developed as the winning pitch of the \u2060Quantum Pitch Competition\u2060&#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"more\"> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/paultalks.science\/blog\/when-the-cosmic-web-spins\/\">Read More<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","inline_featured_image":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,145],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","category-season-three","is-cat-link-regular"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When the Cosmic Web Spins - Paul Talks Science Podcast<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/paultalks.science\/blog\/when-the-cosmic-web-spins\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When the Cosmic Web Spins - Paul Talks Science Podcast\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What if the largest structures in the Universe aren\u2019t just expanding \u2014 but spinning? 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