The world according to physics
This episode "The world according to physics" with Jim Al-Khalili, professor of in physics and public engagement of science and author of "The Joy of Science", will take you on a journey through what we understand about physics, the quantum and reality at extreme cosmic scales. All this just after HVAD plays a mixture of Indian instruments and electronics.
How much of an understanding do we currently have about the physical world and where does theoretical physics research stand in the third decade of the twenty-first century? Are we finally approaching the end of physics when the rich tapestry of the universe will be revealed to us and we will finally understand the true nature of reality?
If we are honest then we must admit that while what we do know is dazzlingly impressive there is still much we have yet to grasp, all the way down to the fundamental nature of space and time to the meaning quantum mechanics, let alone mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.
This episode starring world-famous physicist Jim Al-Khalili will shine a light onto the most profound insights revealed by modern physics, to reveal what this crucially important science tells us about the universe and the nature of reality itself. Al-Khalili begins by introducing the fundamental concepts of space, time, energy, and matter, and then describes the three pillars of modern physics—quantum theory, relativity, and thermodynamics—showing how all three must come together if we are ever to have a full understanding of reality.
Using wonderful examples and thought-provoking analogies, Al-Khalili illuminates the physics of the extreme cosmic and quantum scales, the speculative frontiers of the field, and the physics that underpins our everyday experiences and technologies, bringing the reader up to speed with the biggest ideas in physics in just a few sittings. Physics is revealed as an intrepid human quest for ever more foundational principles that accurately explain the natural world we see around us, an undertaking guided by core values such as honesty and doubt. The knowledge discovered by physics both empowers and humbles us, and still, physics continues to delve valiantly into the unknown.
Event held in English with the generous support of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Talk by
Jim Al-Khalili
Jim Al-Khalili is an Iraqi-born theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey, where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He is also a prominent author and broadcaster. He has written 14 books on popular science and the history of science, between them translated into twenty-six languages. The book on which this lecture was based, The World According to Physics, was shortlisted for the Royal Society Book Prize. He is a regular presenter of TV science documentaries, such as the Bafta nominated Chemistry: a volatile history, and he hosts the long-running weekly BBC Radio 4 program, The Life Scientific. He tweets at @jimalkhalili.
Despite his profile as a public scientist, Jim has continued to teach undergraduate physics students in an unbroken run of 29 years. He is a past president of the British Science Association and a recipient of the Royal Society’s Michael Faraday medal and the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal, the Institute of Physics Kelvin Medal and the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. He is a Patron and Vice-President of Humanists UK. He received an OBE in 2007 for ‘services to science’.
Music by
HVAD
Behind the name HVAD, Hari Shankar Kishore is at a crossroads of music, visual arts and performance. HVAD's work as a vinyl cutter technician shines through in his compositions and live shows. HVAD plays on older Indian instruments like esraj, tanpura, tabla and modern electronics which are manipulated. The original recordings are cut into dubplates and are one of the main instruments in the studio and on stage.
Copenhagen-based HVAD just released a new solo album entitled YUG, an electro-acoustic shrine. The double LP also serves as the second release on HVAD's newly founded, self-owned label ULLLU. The cover of YUG portrays HVAD's grandmother and her two sisters, bringing to the foreground family roots as a cornerstone of the album, ancestral ghosts running through the music.
