Kip Stephen Thorne (born June 1, 1940) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theoretical physicistTheoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics in an attempt to explain natural phenomena. Its central core is mathematical physics,[Sometimes mathematical physics and theoretical physics are used synonymously to refer to the...]
, known for his prolific contributions in
gravitation physicsGravitation is a natural phenomenon by which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most commonly thought of as the agency which lends weight to objects with mass. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, thus accounting for the existence of the Earth, the...
and
astrophysicsAstrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects such as galaxies, stars, planets, exoplanets, and the interstellar medium, as well as their...
and for having trained a generation of scientists. A longtime friend and colleague of
Stephen HawkingStephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is a British theoretical physicist. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes...
and
Carl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrochemist, author, and highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics and other natural sciences...
, he is the current
FeynmanRichard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as work in particle physics...
Professor of Theoretical Physics at
CaltechThe California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. The Institute maintains a strong emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering, and operates and manages NASA's neighboring Jet Propulsion Laboratory...
and one of the world’s leading experts on the astrophysical implications of
Einstein’sAlbert Einstein was a theoretical physicist. His many contributions to physics include the special and general theories of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the first post-Newtonian expansion, explaining the perihelion advance of Mercury, prediction of the deflection of...
general theory of relativityGeneral relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. It unifies special relativity and Newton's law of universal gravitation, and describes gravity as a...
.
Biography
Thorne was born in
Logan, UtahLogan is a city in Cache County, Utah, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 42,670. By 2008, the population is estimated to have increased to 48,657. It is the county seat of Cache County, and the principal city of the Logan, UT-ID Metropolitan Statistical Area,...
, the son of
Utah State UniversityUtah State University is a public land-grant university whose main campus is located in Logan, Utah.It was established in 1888, after Anthon H. Lund introduced a bill for its creation. Originally known as the Agricultural College of Utah, its name was subsequently changed to Utah State...
professorThe meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual...
s D. Wynne Thorne and Alison C. Thorne, a
soil chemistSoil chemistry studies the chemical characteristics of soil. Soil chemistry is affected by mineral composition, organic matter and environmental factors.-Overview:...
and an
economistAn economist is an expert in the social science of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
, respectively. Raised in an academic environment, two of his four siblings are also professors. He became interested in
scienceScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
at the age of eight, after attending a lecture about the
solar systemThe Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by gravity, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago...
. Thorne and his mother then worked out calculations for their own model of the solar system.
Thorne rapidly excelled at academics early in life, becoming one of the youngest full professors in the history of the
California Institute of TechnologyThe California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. The Institute maintains a strong emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering, and operates and manages NASA's neighboring Jet Propulsion Laboratory...
. He received his B.S. from Caltech in 1962, and
Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD , for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent , is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities...
from
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
in 1965. He wrote his Ph.D.
thesisA dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
,
GeometrodynamicsIn theoretical physics, geometrodynamics generally denotes a program of reformulation and unification which was enthusiastically promoted by John Archibald Wheeler in the 1960s.-Einstein's Geometrodynamics:...
of Cylindrical Systems, under the supervision of relativist
John WheelerJohn Archibald Wheeler was an eminent American theoretical physicist. One of the later collaborators of Albert Einstein, he tried to achieve Einstein's vision of a unified field theory...
. Thorne returned to Caltech as an associate professor in 1967 and became a professor of theoretical physics in 1970, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor in 1981, and the
FeynmanRichard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as work in particle physics...
Professor of Theoretical Physics in 1991, a post he currently holds.
Throughout the years, Thorne has served as a mentor and thesis advisor for many leading theorists who now work on observational, experimental, or astrophysical aspects of general relativity. Approximately 50 physicists have received Ph.D.s at Caltech under Thorne's personal mentorship.
Thorne is known for his ability to convey the excitement and significance of discoveries in gravitation and astrophysics to both professional and lay audiences. In 1999, Thorne made some speculations on what the 21st century will find as the answers to the following questions:
- Is there a "dark side of the universe" populated by objects such as black holes?
- Can we observe the birth of the universe and its dark side using radiation made from space-time warpage, or so-called "gravitational waves"?
- Will 21st century technology reveal quantum behavior in the realm of human-size objects?
His presentations on subjects such as
black holeIn general relativity, a black hole is a region of space in which the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape. The black hole has a one-way surface, called an event horizon, into which objects can fall, but out of which nothing can come...
s, gravitational radiation,
relativityThe theory of relativity, or simply relativity, generally refers specifically to two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity...
,
time travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different moments in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects backwards in time to a moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to...
, and
wormholeIn physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that is fundamentally a 'shortcut' through space and time. Spacetime can be viewed as a 2D surface that, when 'folded' over, allows the formation of a wormhole bridge. A wormhole has at least two mouths that are connected...
s have been included in PBS shows in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom on the BBC.
Thorne and Linda Jean Peterson married in 1960. Their children are Kares Anne and Bret Carter, an architect. Thorne and Peterson divorced in 1977. Thorne and his second wife, Carolee Joyce Winstein, a professor of
biokinesiologyKinesiology, derived from the Greek words kinesis and kinein , also known as human kinetics, is the science of human movement. It is a discipline that focuses on Physical Activity. A kinesiological approach applies scientific based medical principles towards the analysis, preservation and...
and physical therapy at
USCThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
, married in 1984.
Research
Thorne's research has principally focused on
relativisticGeneral relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. It unifies special relativity and Newton's law of universal gravitation, and describes gravity as a...
astrophysics and
gravitation physicsGravitation is a natural phenomenon by which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most commonly thought of as the agency which lends weight to objects with mass. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, thus accounting for the existence of the Earth, the...
, with emphasis on
relativisticA relativistic particle is a particle which moves with a relativistic speed; that is, a speed comparable to the speed of light. This is achieved by photons to the extent that effects described by special relativity are able to describe those of such particles themselves...
starA star is a massive, luminous ball of plasma that is held together by gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth. Other stars are visible in the night sky, when they are not outshone by the Sun...
s,
black holeIn general relativity, a black hole is a region of space in which the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape. The black hole has a one-way surface, called an event horizon, into which objects can fall, but out of which nothing can come...
s and especially gravitational waves. He is perhaps best known to the public for his controversial theory that
wormholeIn physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that is fundamentally a 'shortcut' through space and time. Spacetime can be viewed as a 2D surface that, when 'folded' over, allows the formation of a wormhole bridge. A wormhole has at least two mouths that are connected...
s can conceivably be used for
time travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different moments in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects backwards in time to a moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to...
. However, Thorne's scientific contributions, which center on the general nature of
spaceSpace is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of the boundless four-dimensional...
,
timeTime is a component of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects...
, and gravity, span the full range of topics in
general relativityGeneral relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. It unifies special relativity and Newton's law of universal gravitation, and describes gravity as a...
.
Gravity waves and LIGO
Among a handful of physicists, Thorne is considered one of the world’s authorities on
gravitational waveIn physics, a gravitational wave is a fluctuation in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from the source. Predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, the waves transport energy known as gravitational radiation...
s. In part, his work has dealt with the prediction of gravity-wave strengths and their temporal signatures as observed on Earth. These “signatures” are of great relevance to
LIGOLIGO, which stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, is a large physics experiment which is attempting to directly detect gravitational waves. Cofounded in 1992 by Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever of Caltech and Rainer Weiss of MIT, LIGO is a joint project between scientists at...
(Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory), a multi-institution gravity-wave experiment for which Thorne has been a leading proponent — in 1984, he cofounded the LIGO Project (the largest project ever funded by the
NSFThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
) to discern and measure any fluctuations between two or more 'static' points; such fluctuations would be evidence of
gravitational waveIn physics, a gravitational wave is a fluctuation in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from the source. Predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, the waves transport energy known as gravitational radiation...
s, as calculations describe. A significant aspect of his research is developing the
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
necessary to analyze these objects.
http://pass.maths.org.uk/issue18/features/thorne/index.html Thorne also carries out
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
design analyses for features of the LIGO that cannot be developed on the basis of
experimentIn scientific research, an experiment is a method of investigating causal relationships among variables, or to test a hypothesis. An experiment is a cornerstone of the empirical approach to acquiring data about the world and is used in both natural sciences and social sciences...
and he gives advice on
data analysisData analysis is a process of gathering, modeling, and transforming data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making...
algorithmIn mathematics, computing, linguistics, and related subjects, an algorithm is an effective method for solving a problem using a finite sequence of instructions. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and many other fields....
s by which the waves will be sought. He has provided theoretical support for LIGO, including identifying gravitational wave sources that LIGO should target, designing the baffles to control
scattered lightScattering is a general physical process where some forms of radiation, such as light, sound, or moving particles, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by one or more localized non-uniformities in the medium through which they pass. In conventional use, this also includes deviation of...
in the LIGO beam tubes, and — in collaboration with Vladimir Braginsky's (Moscow Russia) research group — inventing quantum nondemolition designs for advanced
gravity-waveIn physics, a gravitational wave is a fluctuation in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from the source. Predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, the waves transport energy known as gravitational radiation...
detectors and ways to reduce the most serious kind of
noiseIn common use, the word noise means unwanted sound or noise pollution. In both analog and digital electronics, noise or signal noise is an unwanted random addition to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the audible noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission...
in advanced detectors:
thermoelastic noiseJohnson–Nyquist noise is the electronic noise generated by the thermal agitation of the charge carriers inside an electrical conductor at equilibrium, which happens regardless of any applied voltage.Thermal noise is approximately white, meaning that the power spectral density is nearly equal...
. With Carlton M. Caves, Thorne invented the back-action-evasion approach to quantum nondemolition measurements of the
quadrature amplitudeQuadrature amplitude modulation is both an analog and a digital modulation scheme. It conveys two analog message signals, or two digital bit streams, by changing the amplitudes of two carrier waves, using the amplitude-shift keying digital modulation scheme or amplitude modulation analog...
s of
harmonic oscillatorIn classical mechanics, a harmonic oscillator is a system which, when displaced from its equilibrium position, experiences a restoring force, F, proportional to the displacement, x according to Hooke's law:where k is a positive constant....
s — a technique applicable both in
gravitational waveIn physics, a gravitational wave is a fluctuation in the curvature of spacetime which propagates as a wave, traveling outward from the source. Predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, the waves transport energy known as gravitational radiation...
detection and
quantum opticsQuantum optics is a field of research in physics, dealing with the application of quantum mechanics to phenomena involving light and its interactions with matter.- History of quantum optics :...
.
Black hole cosmology
Thorne has made prolific contributions to
black hole cosmologyPhysical cosmology, as a branch of astronomy, is the study of the largest-scale structures and dynamics of our universe and is concerned with fundamental questions about its formation and evolution. Cosmology involves itself with studying the motions of the celestial bodies and the first cause....
. Thorne proposed his
Hoop ConjectureThe Hoop Conjecture, proposed by Kip Thorne in 1972, states that an imploding object forms a black hole when, and only when, a circular hoop with a specific critical circumference could be placed around the object and rotated...
that cast aside the thought of a
naked singularityIn general relativity, a naked singularity is a gravitational singularity without an event horizon. The singularities inside black holes are always surrounded by an area which does not allow light to escape, and therefore cannot be directly observed...
. The Hoop Conjecture describes an imploding star turning into a black hole when the critical circumference of the designed hoop can be placed around it and set into rotation.
http://www.usd.edu/phys/courses/phys300/gallery/clark/thorne.html That is, any object of mass M around which a hoop of circumference can be spun must be a black hole. As a tool to be used in both enterprises, astrophysics and theoretical physics, Thorne has developed an unusual approach, called the "
Membrane ParadigmIn black hole theory, the black hole membrane paradigm is a useful "toy model" method or "engineering approach" for visualising and calculating the effects predicted by quantum mechanics for the exterior physics of black holes, without using quantum-mechanical principles or calculations...
", to the theory of black holes and used it to clarify the "Blandford-Znajek" mechanism by which black holes may power some
quasarA quasi-stellar radio source is a powerfully energetic and distant galaxy with an active galactic nucleus. Quasars were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than extended...
s and active galactic nuclei. Thorne has investigated the
quantumIn physics, a quantum is the minimum unit of any physical entity involved in an interaction. An example of an entity that is quantized is the energy transfer of elementary particles of matter and of photons and other bosons...
statistical mechanicalStatistical mechanics is the application of probability theory, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force...
origin of the
entropyEntropy is a concept of information maintaining great importance in physics, chemistry, and information theory...
of a black hole and the entropy of a cosmological horizon in an
inflationary modelIn physical cosmology, cosmic inflation, cosmological inflation or just inflation is the theorized exponential expansion of the universe at the end of the grand unification epoch, 10
−36 seconds after the Big Bang, driven by a negative-pressure vacuum energy density...
of the universe. With Wojciech Zurek he showed that the entropy of a black hole of known
massIn physics, mass commonly refers to any of three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent: inertial mass, active gravitational mass and passive gravitational mass...
,
angular momentumAngular momentum is a quantity that is useful in describing the rotational state of a physical system. For a rigid body rotating around an axis of symmetry , the angular momentum can be expressed as the product of the body's moment of inertia and its angular velocity...
, and
electric chargeElectric charge is a fundamental conserved property of some subatomic particles, which determines their electromagnetic interaction. Electrically charged matter is influenced by, and produces, electromagnetic fields...
is the
logarithmIn mathematics, the logarithm of a number to a given base is the power or exponent to which the base must be raised in order to produce the number....
of the number of ways that the hole could have been made. With Igor Novikov and Don Page he developed the general relativistic theory of thin accretion disks around black holes, and using this theory he deduced that with a doubling of its mass by such accretion a black hole will be spun up to 0.998 of the maximum
spinIn particle physics and quantum mechanics, spin is a fundamental characteristic property of elementary particles including the force carriers , composite particles , and atomic nuclei....
allowed by general relativity, but never any farther; this is probably the maximum black-hole spin allowed in Nature. He, along with his mentor
John WheelerJohn Archibald Wheeler was an eminent American theoretical physicist. One of the later collaborators of Albert Einstein, he tried to achieve Einstein's vision of a unified field theory...
, additionally proved that it was impossible for cylindrical
magnetic fieldMagnetic fields surround magnetic materials and electric currents and are detected by the force they exert on other magnetic materials and moving electric charges...
lines to implode. Both
HawkingStephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is a British theoretical physicist. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes...
and Thorne have theorized that a
singularityA gravitational singularity or spacetime singularity is a location where the quantities that are used to measure the gravitational field become infinite in a way that does not depend on the coordinate system...
exists in the interior of a black hole.
Wormholes and time travel
Thorne was one of the first people to conduct scientific research on whether the laws of physics permit space and time to be
multiply connectedIn topology, a geometrical object or space is called simply connected if it is path-connected and every path between two points can be continuously transformed into every other while preserving the two endpoints in question....
(can there exist classical, traversable wormholes and "
time machineTime travel is the concept of moving between different moments in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects backwards in time to a moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to...
s"?). With Sung-Won Kim, Thorne identified a universal physical mechanism (the explosive growth of
vacuum polarizationIn quantum field theory, and specifically quantum electrodynamics, vacuum polarization describes a process in which a background electromagnetic field produces virtual electron-positron pairs that change the distribution of charges and currents that generated the original electromagnetic field. It...
of quantum fields), that may always prevent spacetime from developing
closed timelike curveIn a Lorentzian manifold, a closed timelike curve is a worldline of a material particle in spacetime that is "closed," returning to its starting point...
s (i.e., prevent "backward time travel"
). With Mike Morris and Ulvi Yurtsever he showed that traversable Lorentzian wormholes can exist in the structure of
spacetimeIn physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Spacetime is usually interpreted with space being three-dimensional and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort than the spatial dimensions...
only if they are threaded by quantum fields in
quantum stateIn quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical object that fully describes a quantum system. One typically imagines some experimental apparatus and procedure which "prepares" this quantum state; the mathematical object then reflects the setup of the apparatus. Quantum states can be...
s that violate the averaged null energy condition (i.e. have negative renormalized energy spread over a sufficiently large region). This has triggered research to explore the ability of quantum fields to possess such extended
negative energyNegative energy may refer to:* Negative energy, as related to exotic matter in particle physics* Negative energy, as a component of the Dirac sea theoretical model of the vacuum* Negative energy plane, an aspect of the Dungeons & Dragons game...
. Recent calculations by Thorne indicate that simple masses passing through traversable wormholes could never engender
paradoxA paradox is a statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition. The term is also used for an apparent contradiction that actually expresses a non-dual truth...
es — there are
no initial conditions that lead to paradox once time travel is introduced. If his results can be generalised, they would suggest that none of the supposed paradoxes formulated in time travel stories can actually be formulated at a precise physical level: that is, that
any situation in a time travel story turns out to permit
many consistent solutions.
Relativistic stars, multipoles, & other endeavors
With Anna Żytkow, Thorne predicted the existence of
red supergiant starA red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass that is in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius immense and the surface temperature low, somewhere from 5,000 K and lower...
s with
neutron-starA neutron star is a type of remnant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during a Type II, Type Ib or Type Ic supernova event. Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles without electrical charge and roughly the same mass as protons...
cores (
Thorne-Żytkow objectA Thorne–Żytkow object or TŻO is a hypothetical type of star, wherein a red giant, red supergiant, or an O-star contains a neutron star inside it....
s). Most importantly, he laid the foundations for the theory of
pulsationIn physics , angular frequency ω is a scalar measure of rotation rate. Angular frequency is the magnitude of the vector quantity angular velocity...
s of relativistic stars and the gravitational radiation they emit. With
James HartleJames Burkett Hartle is an American physicist. He has been a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 1966, and he is currently a member of the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute...
, Thorne derived from general relativity the laws of motion and precession of black holes and other relativistic bodies, including the influence of the coupling of their
multipole momentsMultipole moments are the coefficients of a series expansion of a potential due to continuous or discrete sources . A multipole moment usually involves powers of the distance to the origin, as well...
to the spacetime curvature of nearby objects. Thorne has also theoretically predicted the existence of universally antigravitating "
exotic matterExotic matter is a hypothetical concept of particle physics. It covers any material which violates one or more energy conditions or is not made of known baryonic particles. Such materials would possess qualities like negative mass or being repelled rather than attracted by gravity. It is used in...
" — the element needed to accelerate the expansion rate of the universe, keep traversable wormhole "Star Gates" open and keep
timelikeIn physics and mathematics, Minkowski space is the mathematical setting in which Einstein's theory of special relativity is most conveniently formulated. In this setting the three ordinary dimensions of space are combined with a single dimension of time to form a four-dimensional manifold for...
geodesicIn mathematics, a geodesic is a generalization of the notion of a "straight line" to "curved spaces".In the presence of a metric, geodesics are defined to be the shortest path between points on the space...
free float "
warp driveThe Alcubierre drive, also known as the Alcubierre metric or Warp Drive, is a speculative mathematical model of a spacetime exhibiting features reminiscent of the fictional "warp drive" from Star Trek, which can travel "faster than light" .In 1994, the Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre proposed a...
s" working. With Clifford Will and others of his students, he laid foundations for the theoretical interpretation of experimental
tests of relativistic theories of gravityAt its introduction in 1915, the general theory of relativity did not have a solid empirical foundation. It was known that it correctly accounted for the "anomalous" precession of the perihelion of Mercury and on philosophical grounds it was considered satisfying that it was able to unify Newton's...
— foundations on which Will and others then built. Thorne is currently interested in the origin of classical space and time from the
quantum foamQuantum foam, also referred to as spacetime foam, is a concept in quantum mechanics, devised by John Wheeler in 1955. The foam is supposedly the foundations of the fabric of the universe, but it can also be used as a qualitative description of subatomic spacetime turbulence at extremely small...
of
quantum gravityQuantum gravity is the field of theoretical physics attempting to unify quantum mechanics with general relativity in a self-consistent manner, or more precisely, to formulate a self-consistent theory which reduces to ordinary quantum mechanics in the limit of weak gravity and which reduces to...
theory.
Publications
Thorne has written and edited books on topics in
gravitational theoryGravitation is a natural phenomenon by which objects with mass attract one another. In everyday life, gravitation is most commonly thought of as the agency which lends weight to objects with mass. Gravitation causes dispersed matter to coalesce, thus accounting for the existence of the Earth, the...
and
high-energy astrophysicsHigh energy astronomy is the study of astronomical objects that release EM radiation of highly energetic wavelengths. It includes X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, and extreme UV astronomy, as well as studies of neutrinos and cosmic rays...
. In 1973, he co-authored the classic textbook
GravitationIn physics, Gravitation is a very important reference book on Einstein's theory of gravity by Charles W. Misner, Kip S. Thorne, and John Archibald Wheeler. Often considered the "Bible" of General Relativity by researchers for its prominence, it is frequently called MTW after its authors' initials,...
with Charles Misner and
John WheelerJohn Archibald Wheeler was an eminent American theoretical physicist. One of the later collaborators of Albert Einstein, he tried to achieve Einstein's vision of a unified field theory...
; from which most of the present generation of scientists have learned general relativity theory. In 1994, he published
Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous LegacyBlack Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy is a popular science book by Kip Thorne. It provides an illustrated overview of the history and development of black hole theory up until the early 1990s....
, a landmark book for non-scientists for which he received numerous awards. This book has been published in six languages, and editions in Chinese, Italian, Czech, and Polish are in press.
Thorne's work has appeared in magazines and encyclopedias such as:
- Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine published since August 28, 1845, which according to the magazine makes it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States...
,
- McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology, and
- Collier's Encyclopedia
Collier's Encyclopedia was a U.S.-based general encyclopedia published by Crowell, Collier and Macmillan...
among many others.
Thorne has published more than 150 articles in scholarly journals.
Some recent references
- Thorne, K. S., in 300 Years of Gravitation, (Eds.) S. W. Hawking and W. Israel, 1987, (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press), Gravitational Radiation.
- Thorne, K. S., Price, R. H. and Macdonald, D. M., Black Holes, The Membrane Paradigm, 1986, (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press).
- Friedman, J., Morris, M. S., Novikov, I. D., Echeverria, F., Klinkhammer, G., Thorne, K. S. and Yurtsever, U., Physical Review D., 1990, (in press), Cauchy Problem
A Cauchy problem in mathematics asks for the solution of a partial differential equation that satisfies certain conditions which are given on a hypersurface in the domain. Cauchy problems are an extension of initial value problems and are to be contrasted with boundary value problems...
in SpacetimeIn physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Spacetime is usually interpreted with space being three-dimensional and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort than the spatial dimensions...
s with Closed Timelike CurveIn a Lorentzian manifold, a closed timelike curve is a worldline of a material particle in spacetime that is "closed," returning to its starting point...
s.
Honors and awards
Thorne has been elected to:
- the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
,
- the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine."The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code....
,
- the Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals.Headquartered in Moscow, the Academy is...
, and
- the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society is a discussion group founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin as an offshoot of his earlier club, the Junto...
.
He has been recognized by numerous awards including:
- the American Institute of Physics
The American Institute of Physics is an international body representing physicists and publishing physics related journals. It was founded in 1931....
Science Writing Award in Physics and Astronomy,
- the Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society with missions to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences; and for induction of the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William...
Science Writing Award,
- the American Physical Society
The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen science journals, including the world renowned Physical Review andPhysical Review Letters, and...
's Lilienfeld Prize,
- the German Astronomical Society's Karl Schwarzschild Medal
The Karl Schwarzschild Medal, named after the astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild, is an award presented by the Astronomische Gesellschaft to eminent astronomers and astrophysicists.-Recipients:...
,
- the Robinson Prize in Cosmology from the University of Newcastle
Newcastle University is a major research-intensive university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. It was established as a School of Medicine and Surgery in 1834 and became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne by an Act of Parliament in August 1963...
, England,
- the Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society's Common Wealth Awards for Science and Invention, and
- the California Science Center
The California Science Center is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles...
's California Scientist of the Year Award (2003).
He has been a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Danforth Fellow,
Guggenheim FellowGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, and
Fulbright FellowThe Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of grants for international educational exchange for scholars, educators, graduate students and professionals, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright....
. He has also received the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from
Claremont Graduate UniversityClaremont Graduate University is a private graduate-only university. CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges.- History :Founded in 1925, CGU was the second of the Claremont Colleges to form, following Pomona College and preceding Scripps College. Claremont Graduate University is the oldest...
.
He has been elected to hold Lorentz chair for the year 2009
Leiden University, the NetherlandsLeiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by Prince William of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
.
Thorne has served on:
- the International Committee on General Relativity and Gravitation,
- the Committee on US-USSR Cooperation in Physics, and
- the National Academy of Sciences' Space Science Board, which has advised NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
and Congress on space science policy.
Films
Carl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrochemist, author, and highly successful popularizer of astronomy, astrophysics and other natural sciences...
once asked Thorne to examine the time travel section of the manuscript for
ContactContact is a science fiction novel written by Carl Sagan and published in 1985.A film adaptation of the novel starring Jodie Foster was released in 1997.-Plot summary:...
. Thorne immediately dismissed Sagan's hypothesis; however, he later had an epiphany — wormholes may be used as time machines. His subsequent work,
Wormholes, Time Machines and the Weak Energy ConditionIn relativistic classical field theories of gravitation, particularly general relativity, an energy condition is one of various alternative conditions which can be applied to the matter content of the theory, when it is either not possible or desirable to specify this content explicitly...
, along with other papers, has made him popular with
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
fans. He did not care that it was highly speculative work, putting as much energy into it as other subjects.
In June 2006,
Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In a career of over four decades, Spielberg's films have touched on many themes and genres. Spielberg's early sci-fi and adventure films, sometimes centering on children, were seen as an archetype of modern...
announced he would direct a
scientifically accurateHard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Islands of Space in Astounding Science...
film about "a group of explorers who travel through a worm hole and into another dimension", from a treatment by Kip Thorne and producer
Lynda ObstLynda Rosen Obst is a feature film producer. She was born in New York and is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, CA. She worked as an editor at The New York Times before moving to Los Angeles with her then-husband David Obst...
. In January 2007, screenwriter
Jonathan NolanJonathan "Jonah" Nolan is an Academy Award-nominated author who was born in London and raised in the Chicago area. His most famous work is the short story "Memento Mori", which was used by his brother, director Christopher Nolan, as the basis for the screenplay for the critically acclaimed film...
met with the studio to discuss adapting Obst and Thorne's treatment into a narrative screenplay. The screenwriter suggested the addition of a "time element" to the treatment's basic idea, which was welcomed by Obst and Thorne. In March, Paramount hired Nolan as well as scientists from Caltech, forming a workshop who will begin adapting the treatment after completing the script for Warner Bros.'
The Chicago Fire. The following July, Kip Thorne said there was a push by people for him to portray himself in the film
Interstellar.
See also
- Hoop Conjecture
The Hoop Conjecture, proposed by Kip Thorne in 1972, states that an imploding object forms a black hole when, and only when, a circular hoop with a specific critical circumference could be placed around the object and rotated...
- Membrane Paradigm
In black hole theory, the black hole membrane paradigm is a useful "toy model" method or "engineering approach" for visualising and calculating the effects predicted by quantum mechanics for the exterior physics of black holes, without using quantum-mechanical principles or calculations...
- LIGO
LIGO, which stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, is a large physics experiment which is attempting to directly detect gravitational waves. Cofounded in 1992 by Kip Thorne and Ronald Drever of Caltech and Rainer Weiss of MIT, LIGO is a joint project between scientists at...
- Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different moments in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects backwards in time to a moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to...
- Thorne-Zytkow object
A Thorne–Żytkow object or TŻO is a hypothetical type of star, wherein a red giant, red supergiant, or an O-star contains a neutron star inside it....
- Thorne-Hawking-Preskill bet
The Thorne–Hawking–Preskill bet refers to a public bet on the outcome of the black hole information paradox made in 1997 by physics theorists Kip Thorne, Stephen Hawking and John Preskill....
- Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is a British theoretical physicist. He is known for his contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, especially in the context of black holes...
- John Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler was an eminent American theoretical physicist. One of the later collaborators of Albert Einstein, he tried to achieve Einstein's vision of a unified field theory...
External links