Black Holes, String Theory and Quantum Gravity

Black Holes, String Theory and Quantum Gravity

Prof. Alex Maloney (McGill U.)

Jan. 5, 2017 19:00

Abstract:

The two pillars of modern theoretical physics are quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Despite their successes, these two theories appear to be fundamentally incompatible with one another. This leaves us unable to answer many important physics questions, such as what happens inside a black hole or how to think about the “Big Bang” singularity at the beginning of the universe. We need a better theory - a theory of “quantum gravity” - which will allow us answer these fundamental questions about the nature of space and time. I will talk about the search for a theory of quantum gravity, and what we can learn about this theory from the physics of black holes.

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