Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for September 19, 2004

Transcript:

Danae: Won't reading in the car make you feel sick, Kate? Kate: Not when I'm engrossed by the material, Danae. Danae: Oh...so what has you so engrossed? Kate: Stephen Hawking's presentation of his new calculations in theoretical physics at the GR17 International Conference in Dublin last July. It stirred some controversy among physicists. Danae: Uh...what was so controversial about it? Kate: Well...by fusing ideas of quantum mechanics with those of general relativity, he discovered that black holes emit radiation, now called Hawking radiation, which led to his conclusion that a black hole gradually shrinks and disappears in an explosion. But this had a fundamental problem with the laws of physics, which was called the information paradox... After 30 years of continuous research and collaboration with other renowned physicists, Professor Hawking revealed his new calculations which resolve the information paradox, and recant his earlier conclusions on what happens to matter swallowed by a black hole. Danae: Oh. I get it... ...He's a flip-flopper. Kate: OK, now I'm gonna be sick.