Notes from Saturday

TAPT,

We had a great talk last Saturday at our annual U of A breakfast. Many thanks to Dr. Sam Gralla for a fascinating talk, and for introducing us to the subtleties of imaging a black hole. Thanks also to the U of A Physics Department for a delicious breakfast

In the talk, we learned a lot about the black hole in our galaxy and in others, especially the one in M87, which was the source of the image. Also discussed: the jet from M87, interferometry, radiation from black holes. There was a fascinating discussion of what the constructed image that was released last spring may represent, as well as what it probably doesn’t represent. We also got a sense of how much coordination and cooperation was necessary to make this extraordinary image, and also the best way to transfer terabytes of data between observatories (hint: it’s not by having a good wifi or data connection.) Dr. Grall graciously answered all questions. He also offered to share his slides, and I think I will be able to send those along soon. Thanks to everyone for coming.

Also, Fritz brought two books:

Deep Medicine: Artificial Intelligence Can make Healthcare Human Again, by Eric Topol et al.

and Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime, by Sean Carroll, whom Fritz called a “great explainer.” Both highly recommended.

Please join us for our next meeting on November 9^th at J.D. Garcia’s house, with our usual format. We’ll meet at 9:00 at J.D.’s for potluck breakfast. The topic is energy. We will discuss the latest representations of energy here and in the UK, as well as when and how different instructors work it into the curriculum. Please bring your favorite demo, extra credit if it is energy-related.

Hope to see you all there.

Best,

Karie