Black Holes and Holographic Worlds
Thursday, June 3, 2010, 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Black holes are gravitational behemoths that dramatically twist space and time. Recently, they’ve also pointed researchers to a remarkable proposal—that everything we see may be akin to a hologram. Alan Alda joins Kip Thorne, Robbert Dijkgraaf and other renowned researchers on an odyssey through one of nature’s most spectacular creations, and learn how they are leading scientists to rewrite the rules of reality.
Moderator: Alan Alda
Video: Watch Replay >>
Participants:
Alan Alda, a six-time Emmy Award–winner, played Hawkeye Pierce on the classic television series, M*A*S*H, and, more recently, appeared in continuing roles on ER, The West Wing, and 30 Rock. Altogether, he has been nominated for the Emmy 33 times - as actor, writer, and director. In 1994, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
Raphael Bousso is known for discovering a general relation between the curved geometry of space-time and its information content, known as the "holographic principle." This principle is believed to underlie the unification of quantum theory and Einstein's theory of gravity.
Robbert Dijkgraaf has done award-winning research on string theory, quantum gravity, and the interface between mathematics and particle physics. He is dedicated to creating greater public awareness of mathematics and science, and bridging the gap with the arts and humanities.
Andrew Hamilton is an astrophysicist known for his scientifically accurate general relativistic visualizations of black holes, which have appeared on a number of TV documentary programs, including Nova and National Geographic, in a show at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and on the web, including on YouTube.
Kip Thorne is a prolific expert on gravitational waves and co-author of the textbook Gravitation, from which most of the present generation of scientists has learned general relativity. His research has focused on relativistic stars, black holes, wormholes, time warps and gravitational waves, and he cofounded the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) Project, with which he is still associated.
