Indeed, what happens inside black holes is still not completely known or understood. On the other hand, Philip Morrison, an MIT physicist who, like Feynman, had worked on the Manhattan project, was staunchly opposed to the idea of black holes, which seem to require a region of infinite density in their center known as a singularity. In the late 1950s, Misner recalls, other physicists told some of his colleagues to stay away from studying black holes and the other strange consequences of the mathematics from Einstein's general theory of relativity.įamous physicists argued over whether black holes really existed, including Nobel laureate Richard Feynman.Īt a June 1963 meeting at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, "Feynman came to my defense and said they were possible," Misner recounted. However, black holes remained a theoretical curiosity, with physicists debating whether they were just a strange mathematical artifact or if they actually existed.
As scientists came to understand in subsequent decades, black holes are objects in which gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape from them. In the following year, physicist Karl Schwarzschild found a solution to Einstein's equations that suggested the existence of black holes. The modern idea of black holes emerged in 1915 from Einstein's theory of general relativity, which describes how gravity acts on large scales such as galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the entire universe. The film's science takes a lead role in the story, and the filmmakers clearly considered many aspects of cutting-edge theoretical and observational cosmology in crafting the narrative. "We were all true believers," Misner said. But the trio didn't think they were imaginary. Their textbook presented the physics of black holes, even though, at the time of its writing, their actual existence had not yet been confirmed with strong astronomical observations, said Misner. Thorne and Misner co-authored the 1973 textbook "Gravitation,” with famous physicist John Wheeler, their former graduate school advisor, who is credited with popularizing the term "black hole." But Thorne has been a physicist since the 1960s, before black holes went Hollywood. His book, " The Science of Interstellar," comes out on Friday, along with the wide theatrical release of the film. Thorne was the movie's science consultant and is credited as one of the film's executive producers. The architect of the physics in "Interstellar" is one of Misner's long-time colleagues, theoretical physicist Kip Thorne. What helped turn the tide was a pivotal science meeting in Dallas in December, 1963, held despite the traumatic aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, according to Charles Misner, an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Maryland, in College Park, who was also my guest at a preview screening of "Interstellar." But scarcely more than half a century ago, many physicists bitterly rejected the very existence of black holes. With the assistance of what seems to be an advanced life form, they travel through an exotic tunnel known as a wormhole, to a planet-containing star system containing Gargantua.īlack holes such as Gargantua are widely accepted as objects in our cosmos. In the movie, astronauts attempt to save humans on an increasingly uninhabitable Earth by attempting to find another planet with livable conditions.
INTERSTELLAR BLACKHOLE MOVIE
In a movie that features plausible but fantastic ideas from modern physics, including wormholes, time travel, and extra dimensions, a spinning black hole is perhaps the easiest-to-accept cosmological element in the entire film.
But Gargantua, a huge, rapidly spinning black hole, is the astronomical centerpiece of the movie. (Inside Science) - Gargantua is the star of the new movie "Interstellar." Sure, the human cast includes Anne Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain and other notable actors. ***SPOILER ALERT: This article contains plot spoilers for the movie "Interstellar." If you would like to avoid the spoilers, skip the THREE paragraphs that are italicized.
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