Einstein’s Impact Takes Centre Stage in Brisbane
Last year, Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity turned 100 years old, capping off a century’s worth of enormous progress made by scientists who continue to ask the big questions in an effort to better understand the universe. In fact, 1,000 of those scientists working on the Advanced LIGO project, including 56 Australians, announced just last week that they had observed something Einstein predicted way back when: gravitational waves. (Curious to know what gravitational waves actually are and why they matter? Watch this video.)
Einstein’s discoveries will be celebrated during two stage performances at the World Science Festival Brisbane, which begins March 9. Einstein’s work is also the subject of two programs, including Breakfast with the Brians, which features Australian astrophysicist and Nobel laureate Brian Schmidt and Brian Greene, an author and physicist at Columbia University and co-founder of the World Science Festival.
Direct from New York City, the Australian premiere of Light Falls combines award-winning special effects and the storytelling power of best-selling author and physicist Brian Greene to explore Albert Einstein’s electrifying journey toward one of the most beautiful ideas ever conceived – the General Theory of Relativity.
In Dear Albert, Albert Einstein’s personal correspondence is given new life on stage in a performance written by Emmy-winning actor and writer Alan Alda, who is best known for his work on the hit TV series M.A.S.H. Performers from the Queensland Theatre Company have teamed with Alda to explore the human side of Einstein’s groundbreaking discoveries.
Einstein’s impact will be felt throughout the festival but two audiences in particular will have the chance to watch some of physics’ brightest minds attempt to contain their excitement over the news that their colleagues have now detected gravitational waves. First up, Brian Schmidt and Brian Greene sit down with ABC broadcaster Robyn Williams for Breakfast with the Brians, a conversation about ‘life, the universe and everything.’
Finally, host Brian Greene welcomes some of the world’s leading thinkers on cosmology, black holes and astrophysics to discuss the Reality Since Einstein, which is sure to include lots of insights into the many ways Einstein’s work has shaped our understanding of the universe.
Browse the full festival program here.
Image via NPR.