"The Science of Interstellar"
Summer Term 2022 at the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
The science fiction movie "Interstellar" by director Christopher Nolan illustrates how mankind is confronted with enormous problems caused by diseases and food shortages, possibly due to climate changes. A last resort seems to be the colonization of distant planets, which is possible due to a wormhole in space-time that has appeared near Earth. The beginning of the film sounds fantastic, but has a scientific background thanks to the advisory work of Nobel Prize winner Kip Thorne. The scientific context is described in the book "The Science of Interstellar", which not only explains physical phenomena, but also addresses other natural and engineering sciences as well as climate research and philosophical or social questions.
Based on the film, you will work for a week (19.-23.9.2022) in groups i on research questions such as "How realistic is the depiction of Gargantua?", "What climatic changes can lead to a future scenario like in "Interstellar"?", "What is characteristic for habitable exoplanets?", "How to build a spaceship that can withstand such a journey?" or "What are the consequences of sending messages into the past?".
During three days (26.-28.9.2022) at the end of the Summer School you will present your results at a "Student Conference" in form of talks and posters. Prior to this, you will submit abstracts on your topics and peer review the abstracts of your research colleagues. Experts will accompany you with tips on scientific writing or the creation of posters and talks. During the conference, invited speakers from other institutions and lecturers from the RUB will give plenary talks that will bridge the gap between your topics and current research.
