Watch the Q&A here: https://youtu.be/Pg8jxhCO0m8
Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe
This event was recorded at the Royal Institution on March 23, 2023.
Much of modern astronomy looks a lot like science fiction: gravitational ripples in the structure of space-time, supermassive black holes hidden at the centers of galaxies, habitable exoplanets within the range of our telescopes… there are- Are there limits to what exists?
Although widely considered to fall into the category of fiction, these concepts nevertheless rely on solid scientific ideas about the curvature of space-time from Einstein's theory of general relativity. This theory is known to be extremely counterintuitive, giving rise to singularities, event horizons, and time dilation around black holes. In high gravity regimes, things behave very differently from the low gravity environment on Earth, so our intuition, based on our daily experience, can mislead us. Studying these objects can help us challenge our understanding of what is "natural" and better understand the extreme limits of gravitational theory.
Katy Clough is a lecturer and Ernest Rutherford Fellow at the School of Mathematical Sciences at Queen Mary University of London. She studies systems with strong dynamic gravity using numerical simulations, including black holes and the early universe. She is part of the fundamental physics working group of the future space gravitational wave detector, LISA. Katy's first degree was in engineering and her physics degree was completed at the Open University while working as a chartered accountant. After her doctorate at King's College London, she worked at Goettingen in Germany and at the University of Oxford in postdoctoral positions. She believes that science is for everyone and that there is no right way to be a scientist.
—
A very special thank you to our Patreon supporters who help make these videos possible, in particular:
modsiw, Anton Ragin, Edward Unthank, Robert L Winer, Andy Carpenter, William Hudson
Don McLaughlin, Efkinel Lo, Martin Paull, Ben Wynne-Simmons, Ivo Danihelka, Kevin Winoto, Jonathan Killin, Stephan Giersche, William Billy Robillard, Jeffrey Schweitzer, Frances Dunne, jonas.app, Tim Karr, Alan Latteri, David Crowner, Matt Townsend, THOMAS N TAMADA, Andrew McGhee, Paul Brown, David Schick, Dave Ostler, Osian Gwyn Williams, David Lindo, Roger Baker, Rebecca Pan
—
The Ri is on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheRoyalInstitution
and Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science
and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution
and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ri_science
Listen to the Ri podcast: https://anchor.fm/ri-science-podcast
Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments
Subscribe for the latest scientific videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter
Product links on this page may be affiliate links, meaning it won't cost you anything extra, but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.
Please take the opportunity to connect and share this video with your friends and family if you find it useful.
