
Join Cool Science for Science on Tap every 2nd Monday of the month at Jack Quinn’s in downtown Colorado Springs. Presenters begin at 6:30 pm with food and drink available beginning at 6:00 pm. A wide variety of fascinating topics are presented by local scientists for informal discussion, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages anyone and everyone to come explore the latest ideas in science and technology. From practical to theoretical, the presentations and group interactions provide a fun and interesting way to gain an understanding of the world around us.
Next On Tap: March 11, 2019
The Incredible Black Hole
Black holes are among the weirdest and most terrifying things in the Universe. Invisible, by definition, essentially indestructible, all-consuming, they will be around almost forever. This presentation will focus on the practical aspects of simple black holes - how they're made and how they grow, what they're like, how they are detected and studied, and their ultimate fate. Other theoretical esoterica such as quantum physics, Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, and Newton's law of gravity will only be touched on, or expanded upon in the Q/A session.
If you would like to see some background work on black holes and General Relativity, here are some very interesting and credible web-pages to look at:
Supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy: Sagittarius-A, showing stars orbiting a black hole
Physics of the observation of gravitational waves from the coalescence of two black holes
Computer simulation of two black holes coalescing
Demonstration of a General Relativity prediction: the precession of the perihelion of Mercury
Bio: Dr. James J P Stewart
Professor, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, 1972-1985. Researcher at the Air Force Academy, 1984‑1990. Adjoint professor at UCCS, 2013-2016. CEO of Stewart Computational Chemistry, 1990 - now. Author of the popular (over 25,000 users) quantum-chemistry program MOPAC, which is used for modeling chemical systems, including crystals, and enzymes and other biomolecules. Interested in atomic physics, cosmology, biochemistry, and quantum theory. Author of over 150 papers. Citations: Theory of AM1: 14,179, Theory of optimization: 7,889, Description of MOPAC: 2,453, speeding: 1 ($20 fine)
He has two cats, a wife, and a snow-blower, none of which work.
If you would like to see some background work on black holes and General Relativity, here are some very interesting and credible web-pages to look at:
Supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy: Sagittarius-A, showing stars orbiting a black hole
Physics of the observation of gravitational waves from the coalescence of two black holes
Computer simulation of two black holes coalescing
Demonstration of a General Relativity prediction: the precession of the perihelion of Mercury
Bio: Dr. James J P Stewart
Professor, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, 1972-1985. Researcher at the Air Force Academy, 1984‑1990. Adjoint professor at UCCS, 2013-2016. CEO of Stewart Computational Chemistry, 1990 - now. Author of the popular (over 25,000 users) quantum-chemistry program MOPAC, which is used for modeling chemical systems, including crystals, and enzymes and other biomolecules. Interested in atomic physics, cosmology, biochemistry, and quantum theory. Author of over 150 papers. Citations: Theory of AM1: 14,179, Theory of optimization: 7,889, Description of MOPAC: 2,453, speeding: 1 ($20 fine)
He has two cats, a wife, and a snow-blower, none of which work.