A black hole is a "region of no escape" produced by the complete gravitational collapse of a body. Black holes occur in nature and are of considerable importance in astrophysics. Black holes are also extremely important as objects of study in theoretical physics, as they provide major insights into the fundamental properties of quantum gravity. These insights arise mainly from a truly remarkable relationship between laws of black hole physics and ordinary thermodynamic laws---most significantly, Hawking's discovery that black holes emit thermal radiation at a finite temperature as a result of quantum particle creation. This thermal emission should result in the complete "evaporation" of an isolated black hole within a finite time. An issue of considerable interest is whether information is destroyed in this process.
In this free public talk, Professor Robert Wald (University of Chicago) will describe the nature of black holes, their thermodynamic properties, and the information loss issue.
How to book
This event will take place in person at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA. Tickets for the talk are free but must be pre-booked - please register online here.
