Gravity: From Falling Apples to Ripples in Spacetime
SpEC binary black hole simulation – Image Credit: Harald Pfeiffer (CITA)
April 5th, 2012, 9:10pm
Speaker: Ilana MacDonald
Location: MP 102, 60 St. George street
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The force of gravity is something that each and every one of us experiences all the time. It’s what keeps us from flying into space off the surface of the earth, and what keeps the planets in orbit around the sun. In this talk, we shall explore the concept of gravity, starting with humanity’s earliest theories about how the this force works and ending with my current research on the ripples in space-time caused by inspiralling binary black holes. We will discuss the theories of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, the renaissance scientists Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler, and the revolutionary physicists Newton and Einstein. We will see that the evolution of the concept of gravity is closely tied with the history of science and astronomy.
Ilana MacDonald is a PhD candidate in the fourth year of her doctoral studies in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto. With her supervisor Prof. Harald Pfeiffer of CITA, she studies the gravitational waves, that is, ripples in space-time, given off by binary black holes. She is also very involved in Astronomy public outreach at UofT, helping organize public lectures, and giving planetarium shows to the public. In her spare time, she enjoys knitting and riding her e-bike all around the city (though not at the same time).
(Content taken from http://www1.astro.utoronto.ca/~gasa/public_talk/iWeb/Entries/2012/4/gravity.php)
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