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Doctor Jacks Soapbox SeminarsAuthor: John C. Adler, Ph.D., as told to Bill DeSmedt
What if the cataclysmic Tunguska explosion of 1908 was caused, not by a meteor or a comet, but by a microscopic black hole? Well, like as not, you already know that story the one told by Bill DeSmedt in his award-winning novel/podcast Singularity. What you may not know, though, is the story behind the story: the science behind Singularity. Surprisingly (or maybe not), you can learn a lot about primordial black holes and the Tunguska Event and black hole radiation and the Big Bang on the pages of Singularity. And you dont have to take our word for it: some world-class physicists think so too: Bill got the vast majority of the physics right, which is highly unusual especially in a book that is such a good read. Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology and author of Black Holes and Time Warps: Einsteins Outrageous Legacy Singularity is an uncommonly good science thriller, quite free of the poetic license some writers take with the laws of nature in order to put together the yarn. Jacob D. Bekenstein, Professor of Theoretical Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem and discoverer of black-hole entropy As a specialist in black hole astrophysics, I would have to say that this is one of the most creative uses of primordial black-hole theory in science fiction. Scott A. Hughes, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Now, for the first time, the real-life counterpart of Singularitys resident cosmologist, Doctor Jack Adler, steps up to explain what it is all these scientists are raving about, in his Soapbox Seminars an informal look at the hard-core science behind the novel. PS: Doctor Jacks got about fifteen or so of these seminars planned out so far, but thats subject to change and you could change it. If youve got a question about the science behind Singularity, send it to Jack at doctorjack@soapboxseminars.com. Jack will incorporate some of your questions into upcoming Seminars, and the al Language: en Genres: Natural Sciences, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Seminar 18 -- The Vurdalak Conjecture
Sunday, 14 December, 2008
The Tunguska Mystery -- it's a wrap!