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The Science of Interstellar with Science Advisor, Kip Thorne

2024-12-03 Science & Technology
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Go to https://ground.news/startalk to stay fully informed on the latest Space and Science news. Subscribe through our link for 50% off unlimited access to the Vantage plan this month. Could you travel back in time through a wormhole? Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne to reflect on discovering gravitational waves with LIGO, the science in the movie Interstellar, black holes, and many more mysteries still yet to be answered. Discover the origin story of the movie Interstellar on its 10th anniversary. Kip explains how science, not fiction, shaped the film’s narrative—from the colossal waves on Miller’s planet to the physics behind black hole time dilation. Discover the recipe for how to create a wormhole and how turning on a time machine could cause it to self-destruct. Plus, learn about the Casimir effect, exotic particles, and how LIGO manipulated vacuum fluctuations to bypass the uncertainty principle. Neil and Kip dig into the origins of gravitational wave detection, tracing its roots to Joe Weber's early experiments and Ray Weiss's unpublished paper. Kip reflects on the decades of work required to make LIGO a success, the challenges of measuring distortions a fraction of a proton’s width, and the historic detection of gravitational waves in 2016 that confirmed Einstein’s predictions. Why don’t quantum physics and the theory of relativity mix? We discuss the mysteries of quantum gravity, the paradox of black hole information loss, and Kip’s legendary bet with Stephen Hawking and John Preskell. Kip explains why backward time travel may be possible, Hawking Radiation, and theories for why information can be lost. As they explore the intersection of science and art, Kip discusses his passion for storytelling and some of his future projects, from his poetry-art collaborations to documenting the history of LIGO. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Kip Thorne 04:47 - Creating the Movie Interstellar 17:16 - The Giant Wave on Miller’s Planet 24:01 - Time Dilation Around Gargantuan 28:54 - Inside the Black Hole & Higher Dimension Spacetime 34:05 - Using Wormholes to Travel Backwards in Time 44:22 - Exotic Matter & Controlling Vacuum Fluctuations 50:50 - Finding Gravitational Waves with LIGO 01:07:01 - Winning The Nobel prize 1:10:04 - Kip’s Bet on The Black Hole Information Paradox 1:25:33 - The Problem with Relativity and Quantum Physics 1:31:03 - Poetry, Documenting LIGO, & The Future 1:40:08 - Closing Thoughts Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson

Top Comments (10)

@CumminsHider 2024-12-03

It's kind of sad to see all these prominent physicists like Kip Thorne, Penrose, etc. becoming old. But I know they've lived their lives to the fullest. I salute them

3.7k 131 replies
@ronitshah2898 2024-12-05

What I love about kip thorne is how humble he is. Man is a nobel prize winner in physics and still doesn’t hesitate to admit “I dont know”. Thats a mark of a true scientist.

2.5k 42 replies
@LordBalmung1 2024-12-03

34:50 - I've seen Interstellar like 10 times, and I am 99.99999% certain that the titles of the books have no part in Coop's communication.

1.4k 105 replies
@chanahasnomana 2025-01-30

He won a nobel at 76! That just shows a thinking and active mind will thrive regardless of age! Kip is so inspirational!

779 5 replies
@PhysicsEtalJr 2024-12-04

I took Kip's last class at Caltech in early 2009, it was amazing. He did mention that he was going to leave to start a second career in Hollywood.

642 9 replies
@malako777A 2024-12-04

i like Kip's vocal tic, whenever he finishes a sentence he goes up in pitch saying "eeeehhhh"

639 109 replies
@sakkarabeirre 2024-12-13

Interstellar made me obsessed with Astrophysics. I'm not smart enough to study it but I am smart enough to understand people on YouTube explaining it. Great video!

528 8 replies
@StarTalk 2024-12-03

Go to https://ground.news/startalk to stay fully informed on the latest Space and Science news. Subscribe through our link for 50% off unlimited access to the Vantage plan this month.

403 35 replies
@jango2171 2025-03-10

It's been 10 years since interstellar released but still almost every year people are talking and discussing it. That's what is called a classic cinema ❤

298 6 replies
@Gonzalo_a4 2025-09-08

This movie changed my life, I watched it and read the book 9 years ago, I was mindblown by the concept of time. Now I'm starting my PhD in astrophysics and I owe it all to that moment. An outreach masterpiece, thank you Kip!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

195 14 replies

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