Cape Thorne, Nobel Prize in Physics 2017: “Interstellar respect all laws of physics”

In 1968, at that time he was studying as a teacher in California Institute of Technology (Caltech)And the Cape Thorne faced a turning point in his life. With a Russian friend and colleague, Igor Novikov, They went to see 2001: Space Flight, The famous movie Stanley Kubrick. “When we left the room, we fell silent for ten minutes, fascinated by a movie I was able to flawlessly represent science in an imaginary environment. ”.

Thorne says that the distinction of the outcome arose from the inexhaustible coexistence of Kubrick’s talent with work Arthur C. Clark, The physicist and writer who contributed his knowledge to it The Odyssey has become a cult film and reference for the scientific community.

Since then, the history of the Nobel Prize in Physics – obtained in 2017 – has been associated with cinema on several occasions. In 1985 Thorne met an astronomer and filmmaker Carl Sagan, Who, several years later, began writing a novel and a movie entitled Contact. In the original script, the protagonist traveled in a black hole to the planet orbiting the star Vega, About 25 million light years from Earth.

Sagan asked Thor for scientific advice to see if this plot was possible: “Unfortunately you cannot travel through a black hole, but there is such a thing as Vermin, A concept born from Einstein’s theory of relativity that the protagonist can travel in. I explained to Sagan that All of the wormholes that we physicists studied exploded so quickly that nothing could penetrate themBut I’m starting to think maybe we’ll find something that can keep the hole open, “the specialist got on Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research.

This question motivated Thorne and other researchers to study black holes of worms and foreign matter. “the film Contact It also took two students and I to delve into the journey through time as in a series, Which turns a wormhole into a time machine. We realized it was possible according to the laws of relativity. ”Since then, many scientists – among them the Russian Novikov who saw the Odyssey with Thorne – have begun examining wormholes and time travel.

In 2005, Producer Linda Obst called Thorne to ask if he wanted to brainstorm a new feature film. This approach was a genesis Interstellar, The famous film directed by Christoper Nolan and in which Thorne worked as an executive producer and scientific advisor, and which tells the story of a group of astronauts who travel through a black hole of worms near Saturn in search of a new home for humanity.

Once again, cinema and science met again in Thorne’s life. “At my first meeting, I asked the director that nothing in the movie should violate the entrenched laws of physics. Nolan told me he would do that as long as it wasn’t an obstacle to making a good movie. And the throne commented on it.

Tape With over 100 million tickets soldHe’s inspiring people a lot about the science, expert continued, and that was one of the goals. Then I wrote a book on the topic for everyone interested in understanding the depth of science.

Along with Stephen Hawkins and Linda Obst, Thorne created another science movie. “Production is progressing and may appear in the next few years. I hope it’s an inspiration around science like Odyssey and Interstellar,” he concluded.