This is a free event dedicated for schools, which includes a public lecture by Professor Kip Thorne. The event is aimed at Key Stages 4 and 5. For tickets to the the free public talk only, please click here.
Please note that schools should book as one group, rather than individually.
The event includes:
- 1600 Schools talk: “Gravitational Waves: A Nobel Prize-winning discovery”, delivered by researchers in the Cardiff University School of Physics and Astronomy
- 1730 Light Buffet Meal
- 1830 Professor Kip Thorne Public Lecture: “My Romance with the Warped Side of the Universe: from Black Holes and Wormholes to Time Travel and Gravitational Waves”
Due to very limited spaces, schools can bring a maximum of 15 students, with the group accompanied by a responsible adult at all times (teacher, other staff member, or nominated parent). The event will involve some moving on foot between buildings around the Cardiff University campus, though journeys should only be for a few minutes.
Please provide details of the accompanying responsible adult, a contact mobile telephone number, and any dietary or access requirements.
Professor Kip Thorne is a theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate. In this free public talk, for all audiences he will discuss “My Romance with the Warped Side of the Universe: from Black Holes and Wormholes to Time Travel and Gravitational Waves”.
Kip is a world-leading expert on the implications of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, from time travel to wormholes, and from black holes to gravitational waves. Until 2009 he was the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, but has since retired to take up a new career in writing, and collaborations between science and art. He was executive producer and scientific adviser on Interstellar, the 2014 blockbuster film. One of Kip’s key contributions was the visualisation of black holes and their surroundings, which contributed to the film winning an Oscar for “Best Visual Effects”. Kip explained the science in the film in his 2014 book The Science of Interstellar. His many other multimedia projects have cemented his reputation to be able to explain complex concepts in ways that everyone can understand.
As one of the founders of LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory), Kip was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for “decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”, along with Rainer Weiss and Barry C. Barish. The first detection of gravitational waves by LIGO in 2015 confirmed a key part of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, and observations have continued to test one of science’s most famous theories.
This talk is aimed at all audiences, but is most appropriate for age 12 upwards.
Mae’r Athro Kip Thorne yn ffisegydd damcaniaethol ac yn enillydd gwobr Nobel. Yn y ddarlith gyhoeddus hon, sy’n agored i bawb, bydd yn trafod “Fy Angerdd at Ochr Ystumiedig y Bydysawd: o Dyllau Du a Thyllau Mwydyn i Deithio drwy Amser a Thonau Disgyrchol.”
Mae Kip yn arbenigwr sy’n arwain y byd ym maes goblygiadau theori Perthnasedd Cyffredinol Einstein, o deithio drwy amser i dyllau mwydyn, ac o dyllau du i donau disgyrchol. Tan 2009, ef oedd yr Athro Feynmann mewn Ffiseg Ddamcaniaethol yn Caltech, ond mae wedi ymddeol ers hynny i ddechrau gyrfa newydd fel awdur, a chynnal prosiectau cydweithredol rhwng gwyddoniaeth a chelf. Ef oedd cynhyrchydd gweithredol a chynghorydd gwyddonol y ffilm fawr Interstellar yn 2014. Un o brif gyfraniadau Kip oedd ei waith yn delweddu tyllau du a’r hyn o’u cwmpas, a gyfrannodd at wobr Oscar y ffilm ar gyfer “Effeithiau Gweledol Gorau”. Eglurodd Kip y wyddoniaeth yn y ffilm yn ei lyfr The Science of Interstellar yn 2014. Mae nifer o’i brosiectau amlgyfrwng eraill wedi cadarnhau ei allu i egluro cysyniadau cymhleth mewn ffordd sy’n ddealladwy i bawb.
Fel un o sylfaenwyr LIGO (Arsyllfa Tonnau Disgyrchol yr Ymyriadur Laser), cafodd Kip Wobr Nobel mewn Ffiseg yn 2017 am “gyfraniadau pwysig i’r synhwyrydd LIGO ac arsylwadau ar donnau disgyrchol”, ynghyd â Rainer Weiss a Barry C. Barish. Pan gafodd y tonnau disgyrchol eu canfod am y tro cyntaf gan LIGO yn 2015, cadarnhawyd rhan allweddol o theori Perthnasedd Cyffredinol Einstein, ac mae arsylwadau wedi parhau er mwyn profi un o theorïau enwocaf byd gwyddoniaeth.
Mae’r ddarlith yn agored i bawb, ond yn fwyaf addas i bobl 12 mlwydd oed ac yn hŷn.
