back to article Kip Thorne explains how he created the black hole for Interstellar

Youtube Video Ahead of the release of Christopher Nolan’s hotly anticipated space movie Interstellar, the film-makers reveal how theoretical physicist Kip Thorne helped them to create scientifically accurate special effects for a black hole. It’s a pretty clever piece of marketing for the movie, which has relied on the …

  1. SuperTim
    Trollface

    That reminds me...

    I had a screensaver a bit like that on Windows 95...It simulated a system where all information was lost without the possibility to transmit that information back into the universe....and neither does a black hole (chortle)

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Headmaster

      Re: That reminds me...

      THIS IS STILL BEING DISCUSSED

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: That reminds me...

      "I had a screensaver a bit like that on Windows 95...It simulated a system where all information was lost without the possibility to transmit that information back into the universe"

      Screensaver? I think you'll find that was the operating system itself!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Devil

        Re: That reminds me...

        @ Boltar

        OK, that was a cheapshot. However, I felt compelled to upvote you for it!

    3. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: That reminds me...

      Are you sure it wasn't blue?

      Seriously, I seem to remember that screensaver. Vaguely. There sure were a lot of cool screen savers back in the day. To bad they went malware-for-money. *sigh*

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: That reminds me...

        "Are you sure it wasn't blue?"

        That bit was the event horizon.

      2. Marshalltown

        Re: That reminds me...

        Do you remember the monitor and desk?

    4. FreemonSandlewould

      Re: That reminds me...

      Did you know the actor Rip Torn is Kip Thorne's dad?

    5. Shaha Alam
      Facepalm

      Re: That reminds me...

      fail. windows 10 hasn't even come out yet and you claim to have used windows 95???

      noob.

  2. Semtex451
    Thumb Up

    Finally something that looks worth a visit to a big screen cinema.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Finally something that looks worth a visit to a big screen cinema."

      Don't get too excited - a film needs more than just flashy special effects - no matter how physically accurate - to make it half decent. The track record of hollyword sci fi films scripts isn't exactly outstanding.

      1. Steven Raith

        To be fair though, Nolans stuff has generally been eminently watchable thus far - I won't call his work cinematic classics, but you've gotta admit, he has some fun and interesting ideas on what makes a film.

        Probably worth a punt, I'd say.

        Steven R

    2. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      "...a big screen cinema..."

      Horrifying. A basket ball team will be in the next row in front.

      The Asthmatic and Phlegm Society will be in the row behind.

      James P. Ebola will be on the right and Martha Pox on the left.

      The seat will be contaminated with some mysterious bodily secretion.

      The obese lady down the row will have a 20mL bladder that has a 15m cycle.

      But her colon is 17L and will pass gas as she squeezes past for the tenth time.

      Enjoy the movie.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: "...a big screen cinema..."

        "Horrifying."

        I have wondered in recent years if a big launch event for a Hollywood "blockbuster" could be carried out on cable/satellite Pay Per View. It might be an interesting experiment for one of the big studios to try out. After all, many people have large screen TVs at home now and I think a lot of people would pay £20-30 for an "event" that they'd pay similar for at the cinema but without the dross that comes with a trip out.

        Two options spring to mind. A "simulcast" with the cinema launch, ie a pay-per-view like a sports event so every one watches at the same time and also try out a one weekend only On Demand event. Either with different films on different launch days or even on the same launch but in different areas/countries/territories.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "...a big screen cinema..."

        While living in Hong Kong I discovered the joy of <20 seat cinemas with big lay-z-boy electric reclining chairs, waitress service and beer. It's the only way I'll drag myself to a cinema instead of waiting to watch it on my nice comfy home cinema setup.

        Do these exist in the UK yet?

        1. Triggerfish

          Re: "...a big screen cinema..."

          They have similar in Bangkok, relative pricing would put it out of my pocket here in the UK though I think.

      3. illiad

        Re: "...a big screen cinema..."

        that's why i go at lunch, when most of those are working!!

  3. Mark York 3 Silver badge
    Alien

    Just Down The Road.

    Literally just down the bottom of the hill from me is the baseball stadium in Alberta, some street scenes & with more being shot in Fort McLeod & generally around Alberta.

    1. Semtex451

      Re: Just Down The Road.

      What you have a blackhole down there?

      1. Semtex451

        Re: Just Down The Road.

        I didn't think that through did I?

    2. Mallorn

      Re: Just Down The Road.

      That's not necessarily a good thing. There is nothing worse for destroying the immersive feeling of something than, just after arriving at an alien planet they wander into a city and your first reaction is "Hey that's Edmonton!". Simon Fraser University next door in BC is a particularly common location and has been in Stargate SG1 and Battlestar Galactica: apparently 1960's concrete looks 'alien'.

  4. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Not bad

    1) Movie about a Black Hole?

    2) Get the guy on the phone who co-wrote the telephone-directory sized book on Gravitation

    3) ???

    4) All those feels and Rousing Magic Spielburg Music!

    Definitely more impressive than Greg Egan's Applet efforts.

    A smaller version of the book "Gravitation" is A. Zee's (get it?) Einstein Gravity in a Nutshell. That nutshell is the size of a coconut though.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Not bad

      Also

      > Liftoff!

      > Inside view: A giant hand presses astronauts into their acceleration seats like in any old-school SPACE MOVIE

      > Outside view:

      > Rocket is practically not accelerating at all

      > Scientifically accurate

      Poetic license....

      1. JeffyPoooh
        Pint

        Re: Not bad

        "...Poetic license..."

        Like in Gravity, where all the space stations are in the same orbit, spaced conveniently not too far apart.

        Won't buy it until it's $10. Still waiting.

    2. SDoradus

      Re: Not bad

      I gather the movie is about a wormhole, at least in terms of the travel. My copy of Gravitation is stuck at the bottom of a cardboard box somewhere in the sleepout, but as I recall - over a span of decades - Kip Thorne discussed and calculated the creation of a wormhole using exotic matter (Z=0). He observed that not only were the energy requirements huge, but the wormhole would be initially the sign of a pinhead (and vast quantities of exotic matter would also be needed to enlarge it).

      But for him the important point was that the rules of relativistic physics did not actually rule wormholes out.

  5. Christoph
    Joke

    A scientifically accurate Black Hole? That sucks.

    1. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Nope, it's bent.

  6. Rol

    If at the centre of a black hole there is nothing other than a dimensionless point, can we surmise it is nothing but a pointless dimwit at the centre of EU finance?

  7. Vociferous

    Sadly some other aspects of the movie are not as well researched

    E.g. the reason why Earth is dying.

    But it still looks like a good movie and that there is any science at all is refreshing. I'll definitely see it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sadly some other aspects of the movie are not as well researched

      This movie has been kept pretty much under wraps so far, I reckon there's going to be some proper surprises dished out. I'm hoping it's going to be an excellent movie an looking forward to it emensely.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Pint

        Re: Sadly some other aspects of the movie are not as well researched

        If it's not a rehash of a series or prior film, that'll be surprise enough! I get invited to go see a film, on someone else's dime no less, and don't bother. Another non-optimal use of my time. (I really do think that way.) So, bring it on.

  8. Unicornpiss
    Thumb Up

    I love it

    When the creation of a movie, game, etc. ends up discovering something overlooked in day-to-day science or engineering. An example would be the 1983 Atari 2600 game "Space Shuttle" by Activision. Apparently they actually worked with NASA peeps to make the simulation as realistic as possible. In the course of doing so, they discovered from the game that it was possible to land the shuttle successfully in an unexpected way--which was verified on NASA's simulator.

    Looking forward to the movie :)

    1. bpfh

      Re: I love it

      Any info on what that landing mode was? I'm interested, but can't find anything on the interwebs.

      1. Unicornpiss

        Re: I love it

        I remember it from some truly ancient gaming article in a magazine. I did find this though:

        http://home.hiwaay.net/~lkseitz/cvg/shuttle.html

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re. black holes

    Interesting.

    I did some theoretical physics calculations on whether condensed matter could be used to simulate exotic matter thereby enabling NASA's "IXS Enterprise" to work with only a few slight modifications.

    The upshot is that in principle if certain extrapolations hold such as the Cooper pairs within the lattice being induced via pulsed RF off axis to oscillate faster than light then yes in principle a rotating pair of superconducting disks spinning in opposite directions would behave very much like exotic matter is predicted to do, and actually create something approximating an event horizon.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like