Newswise — May 5, 2015 (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) – Four decades ago, Dr. Stephen Hawking posed a paradox about black holes that still challenges the imaginations of physicists today. The “information paradox” suggests that nothing, not even information itself, survives beyond a black hole’s event horizon, which clashes with the quantum principle that information cannot be destroyed.
One of the most promising approaches to resolving this paradox is string theory. On May 6, Dr. Amanda Peet, a physicist at the University of Toronto, will describe how the “Legos” in the string theory toolbox can help study the extreme physics of black holes.
“What I want to get across to people is that string theory, although it might sound scary, is actually a surprisingly simple idea,” says Peet. “Just starting from some relatively simple Legos, without getting into all the technicalities, we can understand how strings are versatile and how they can be applied.”
The talk, titled “String Theory Legos for Black Holes,” is part of the Perimeter Institute Public Lecture Series presented by Sun Life Financial, and will be webcast live May 6. Online viewers will be invited to submit questions for Peet via social media.
Originally from the island nation of Aotearoa/New Zealand, Peet earned a BSc at the University of Canterbury and a PhD from Stanford University, and has won a Radcliffe Fellowship from Harvard University and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship. Peet was also featured in the three-part documentary “The Elegant Universe” on the PBS NOVA series.
Peet’s public lecture will be webcast live on Wednesday May, 2015, at 7 pm EDT. Viewers can pose questions for Peet’s post-lecture Q&A by tweeting to @Perimeter and using the hashtag #piLIVE. Click here to sign up to receive an email reminder about the live webcast.
View past PI Public Lectures and events, and find further details about PI’s research, training, and outreach activities at http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca.
________________________________________LIVE WEBCAST DETAILS• What: Amanda Peet, String Theory Legos for Black Holes• When: Wednesday, May 6, 7 pm EDT • Where: Live at Perimeter Institute, webcast online at http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca• Click here to sign up to receive an email reminder about the live webcast• Pose questions for Peet by tweeting @Perimeter using the hashtag #piLIVE• More info: http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/outreach/general-public/public-lecture-series________________________________________
ABOUT PERIMETER INSTITUTEPerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (PI) is an independent, non-profit, scientific research organization working to advance our understanding of physical laws and develop new ideas about the very essence of space, time, matter, and information. Located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, PI also provides a wide array of research training and educational outreach activities to nurture scientific talent and share the importance of discovery and innovation among students, teachers, and the general public. In partnership with the Governments of Ontario and Canada, PI is a successful example of public-private collaboration in scientific research, training, and outreach. http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/ @Perimeter
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:Eamon O’FlynnExternal Relations Specialisteoflynn[at]perimeterinstitute[dot]ca(519) 569-7600 x5071@Perimeter
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