The Most Important Algorithm Of All Time

The Fast Fourier Transform is used everywhere but it has a fascinating origin story that could have ended the nuclear arms race. This video is sponsored by 80,000 Hours. Head to http://80000hours.org/veritasium to sign up for their newsletter and get sent a free copy of their in-depth career guide. A huge thank you to Dr. Richard Garwin for taking the time to speak with us. Thanks to Dr. Steve Brunton of the University of Washington for his help with understanding the Fast Fourier Transform. Thanks to Dr. Cliff Thurber of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Paul Richards of Columbia University, and Dr. Steven Gibbons of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute for their expertise. Thanks to Grant Sanderson of 3Blue1Brown for his helpful feedback on the script. His great video on the Fourier Transform is here - https://youtu.be/spUNpyF58BY ▀▀▀ References: Kristensen, H.M., Korda, M. (2022). Status of World Nuclear Forces. Federation of American Scientists (FAS). https://ve42.co/Stockpile2022 Barth, K. H. (1998). Science and politics in early nuclear test ban negotiations. Physics Today, 51(3), 34-39. - https://ve42.co/Barth1998 Schmalberger, T. (1991). In pursuit of a nuclear test ban treaty - https://ve42.co/Schmalberger1991 Bowers, D., & Selby, N. D. (2009). Forensic seismology and the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 37, 209-236 - https://ve42.co/Bowers2009 Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). (2022). How Often Do Earthquakes Occur? https://ve42.co/IRIS2022 Kimball, D. (2022). The Nuclear Testing Tally. Arms Control Association. https://ve42.co/TestTally2022 Kværna, T., & Ringdal, F. (2013). Detection capability of the seismic network of the International Monitoring System for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 103(2A), 759-772 - https://ve42.co/Kvrna2013 Sykes, L. R., & Evernden, J. F. (1982). The verification of a co