Physics Research Conference

In 2006, movie producer Lynda Obst and I conceived some underlying concepts for a science fiction movie that ultimately, in the hands of Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, became Interstellar and was recently nominated for five academy awards. I worked closely with Obst and the Nolans to ensure that real science was integrated into Interstellar's fabric, and I worked with the Visual Effects team to ensure that black holes, wormholes, and other astrophysical objects were accurately depicted. In this colloquium I will describe my experiences in the making of Interstellar, in generating its computer graphics, and in using its computer graphics software for relativity research. I will also describe some of the rich science underlying the movie, e.g.:

* general relativity (gravitational time dilation and frame dragging by a spinning black hole, gravitational lensing, the three singularities inside a black hole)
* geophysics (giant water waves generated by a black hole's tidal forces)
* braneworld speculations (the 5-dimensional cosmological model assumed in the movie, its instability, stabilization, and gravitational anomalies)
And I will describe a bunch of things I learned or relearned, e.g.:
* It's fun and fruitful to brainstorm with artists.
* Visual Effects teams have much to teach computational physicists and vice versa.
* Genius can be found in unexpected places.

To understand and enjoy this colloquium, it is not necessary to have seen the movie Interstellar, but it would help. Interstellar is still playing in a few nearby theaters.