What is the smallest thing you can think of? What’s smaller than that? For World Quark Day, experimental physicist Dr. Martin Breidenbach takes Andrew & Polly on a trip through the 70’s into subatomic space to recount his use of a gigantic device to discover how small the universe can get. 

Innovations such as radiation oncology and the World Wide Web can trace their origins to the pioneering experiments of physicists like Marty asking the same questions we ask on Ear Snacks – What’s that made of? How can we learn more about it? And what’s next?

Giga thanks to Marty for walking us through the fundamental nature of matter and SLAC NAtional Accelerator Laboratory’s Manuel Gnida for arranging the interview. To support the work that we do and get bonus content and personalized birthday messages, visit patreon.com/earsnacks -- thanks for listening!