Hawking, Gross, Smoot… Wow…
Attended an event last weekend in which Stephen Hawking, David Gross and George Smoot gave half-hour talks on the things that interest them. Also in attendance was the NASA administrator Michael Griffin.
Stephen Hawking requires (or should!) no introduction. Quite possibly the most important (and famous) physicist since Einstein he was going about the business of tumbling the gods’ and the universe’s secrets before being afflicted with motor-neurone disease. It’s unfathomable to think that now, at 66, he’s still able to globe-hop.
Hawking’s talk felt short, and the audience waited with baited breath on his every electronic word. It was quite spectacular – you could not hear a pin drop (even if our ears could hear such high frequencies). It’s clearly evident that he has a very dry sense of humour too. As he discussed the drive to investigate the origins of the universe (sic creation) he mentioned that a papal edict said it was permissible to discuss what came after the start of the universe, but not the instant of creation. He wittily remarked that he was thankful that there was no longer the Inquisition as he showed a picture of himself behind bars. The way he delivers such, even with the electronic voice, just immediately makes you not think about his condition at all, a subtle talent that must enable him to communicate effectively with others when otherwise they’d be tip-toeing around him.
His talk was way to short for my liking though, as they all were and I was left wanting more.
Michael Griffin, as the NASA administrator seems out of place with this group but his title beguiles the fact that he’s also a clever fellow, with a PhD and more degrees than you can wave a set of simultaneous equations at he’s head of quite possibly one of the most important organizations on Earth. NASA, be it not a stooge of the US Government must surely promise and be at the vanguard of the future of humanity. Unfortunately being the NASA Administrator incurs wrestling with the politic beast, and he’s not without his share of controversy. The inevitable question though is when will mankind again be stepping on another planetary body.
Gross is a super-string proponent and particle physicist. Those kinds of chaps that get to play with very small very fast things and usually make them collide. I won’t even try to explain strings – I don’t know anything more than urban colloquialisms on such other than they try to explain things with extra dimensions that have been entwined. They’re a candidate for explain the whole shebang. Science though is not without its rigorous debate (which is a good thing) and this field is a hot topic. There’s not much he could say in the time allotted, other than it’s very interesting.
George Smoot on the other hand crammed a whole lot into his slot, I think principally by talking very fast! He gave potentially the most scientific talk as he discussed his research (and for what he won the big Nobel Prize for) on Relics of Creation or the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation and his mapping of the universe. This I found fascinating – having had a discussion about such with a chap at work. The discussion was
- What actually is the CMBR?
- Why is it everywhere?
- What does it mean?
All in all – a fascinating evening, if not just a wee bit too short.
