Celebrating the International Year of Physics: Black Holes, Einstein, and Gravitational Waves

SUMMER SCIENCE LECTURE SERIES

CELEBRATING THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PHYSICS

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's "miracle year" when he published a series of scientific papers that revolutionized our understanding of space, time and the atom. To commemorate this, the United Nations has declared 2005 the International Year of Physics.

This summer, Stanford Continuing Studies, the Stanford Alumni Association and the Office of Science Outreach will host four informal evening talks on physics by Stanford faculty members.

Black Holes, Einstein, and Gravitational Waves

For more than 100 years scientists have believed in the existence of "black holes," massive objects and forces from which nothing - not even light - can escape. Black holes are thought to exist in the core of every galaxy of the Universe, including our home galaxy, the Milky Way. A century ago Einstein predicted that black holes emitted waves of gravitational radiation. By studying gravitational waves, Professor Byer and his colleagues are trying to provide a new window for looking at the Universe back to the beginning of time.

Join us for this special session, which will begin at 8:30 PM. Professor Byer will begin his talk in the Palm Courtyard, explaining what gravitational waves are, how the size and movement of stars and planets prove their existence, and why they may be a key to understanding the beginning of time. We will then walk outside to the nearby Angell Field where, using the dark sky as our classroom, Professor Byer will point us to the Saggitarius constellation and the center of the Milky Way, using the stars and planets as "props" for the remainder of his talk.

Don't forget to bring binoculars to get a better view of the night sky.

Upcoming lectures in our science series:

Cosmology from the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (8/10)

String Theory: Figuring Out What Holds the Universe Together (9/12)