2015 Misel Family Lecture
The William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute is proud to host the 10th Annual Misel Family Lecture. This lecture is FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Questions? Please contact us at ftpi@umn.edu or 612-625-6055. We look forward to seeing you there!
“Spacetime Versus the Quantum"
Professor Joseph Polchinski
The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics & the University of California, Santa Barbara
McNamara Alumni Center, Memorial Hall
Wednesday, September 10, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Abstract: I will talk about the search for a unified theory of the laws of physics including quantum mechanics, which governs the very small, and general relativity, which governs the very large. Stephen Hawking showed 40 years ago that these theories make conflicting predictions near black holes. This ignited a battle that continues to this day: either quantum mechanics must break down, or our understanding of spacetime must be wrong. The latest wrinkle is the `firewall' paradox: if quantum mechanics is to be saved, then an astronaut falling into a black hole will have an experience very different from what Einstein's theory predicts. This has led to many new ideas that may lead to the unification of these two great theories.
