The Biggest Ideas in the Universe is a series of videos where I talk informally about some of the fundamental concepts that help us understand our natural world. Exceedingly casual, not overly polished, and meant for absolutely everybody. This is Idea #18, "Atoms." Though in true Biggest Ideas tradition, it's less about actual atoms and more about why atoms are the way that Standard Model particles end up existing in our world. My web page: http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/ My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/seancarroll Mindscape podcast: http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast The Biggest Ideas playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrxfgDEc2NxZJcWcrxH3jyjUUrJlnoyzX Blog posts for the series: http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/category/biggest-ideas-in-the-universe/ Background image: http://physicsopenlab.org/2017/05/18/particles-in-the-mist/ #science #physics #ideas #universe #learning #cosmology #philosophy #particles #atoms