What happens when you fall into a black hole? Einstein’s General Relativity established that there would be no physical effect marking the location of the black hole’s edge. Recent results have pitted this nearly century old scientific dogma against the basic equations of quantum mechanics, with some suggesting that black holes are actually surrounded by firewalls that would instantly incinerate any cosmological explorer. Join a discussion at the cutting-edge, as physicists struggle to determine which of their long-cherished principles may have to be abandoned.
The World Science Festival’s annual salon series offers in-depth conversations with leading scientists, extending the discussion of the Festival’s premiere public programs to graduate students, postdocs, faculty and well-informed members of the general public.
This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.