Pulsar Starquakes Make Fast Radio Bursts? + Challenge Winners! | Space Time | PBS Digital Studios

The video explores the mystery of fast radio bursts (FRBs), their discovery, and the challenges in understanding their origins. Initially thought to be cataclysmic events, the repeated detection of FRBs suggests a different source, possibly young neutron stars. The video also presents a challenge question about the travel distance of cosmic microwave background photons and the mean free path of photons before recombination, explaining the calculations involved. The episode concludes with acknowledgments and rewards for correct answers.

What is the significance of the Thompson scattering cross section in understanding photon interactions?

Discuss the implications of the electron density at the moment of recombination on the behavior of photons.

Explain the concept of mean free path in the context of photons traveling through the universe.